Abstract:
Background and Objective: The environment in medical college itself is recognized as inherently stressful. The competive atmosphere, constant evaluations, and high expectations can contribute to a feeling of constant pressure and anxiety among students. This study aimed to determine the learning and relaxation techniques adopted by high-achieving medical students studying in a private medical college in Lahore. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study completed in 6 months duration. A self-designed, customized, and expert-validated questionnaire was used to collect data from consecutive medical students who scored above 70% in their last professional examinations and were enrolled in a five-year MBBS program at Central Park Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan. The data were analyzed using statistical software and the percentages of responses were calculated by keeping the power of study at 80% with <0.05 significance level. Results: The results showed that the most frequently adopted learning techniques were group study [63(61.8%)], discussing with classmates [54(85.7%)], selective study paetrn but reading once [56(54.9%)], studying a week before the test [51(50%)], and revising twice [60(58.8%)]. More than 49% (p = 0.04) of students sleep for 4 hours before examination. The most common media for learning was YouTube (78.4%). The most practiced method of memorization of course content (78.4%) was understanding the concept. The relaxing techniques were watching dramas and seasons (55%). Considering the coping mechanism for stress 72.5% preferred praying. Conclusion: The high achiever undergraduate medical students employed diefrent learning strategies while the most favored medium for studying was YouTube channels. Concurrently, brief breaks during study sessions, listening to music, watching movies, and other forms of visual entertainment were the most reported relaxation techniques. The most oeftn used coping strategies for stress were prayer and rest.
Keywords:
medical education
,
MBBS
,
Undergraduates
,
High achievers
,
study method
,
relaxing techniques