Investigating the Effect of Emergency Medicine Internship on Vocational Anxiety and Depression in Sixth Grade Students of the Medical Faculty

Abstract

Aim: The sixth grade of medical school is a true preparatory stage for the physicians. This places the physician candidates at stress before the emergency medicine (EM) internship and can lead to anxiety and depression. The present study is the first study to investigate depression, anxiety, and stress levels of sixth-grade medical students before and after the EM internship.Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study,which is conducted on sixth-grade medical students. Anxiety, depression, and stress scores were assessed on the first and last day of the EM internship. The Beck depression and Beck anxiety scales and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) were used. Overall, 131 sixth-grade medical students who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study.Results: The mean Beck depression score was 10.15±6.11 on the first day of internship and 6.37±4.79 on the last day of internship. The difference was statistically significant (p