Curtin Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia.
School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
BMC Med Educ. 2019 Mar 4;19(1):69. doi: 10.1186/s12909-019-1505-2.
Medical student wellbeing - a consensus statement from Australia and New Zealand outlines recommendations for optimising medical student wellbeing within medical schools in our region. Worldwide, medical schools have responsibilities to respond to concerns about student psychological, social and physical wellbeing, but guidance for medical schools is limited. To address this gap, this statement clarifies key concepts and issues related to wellbeing and provides recommendations for educational program design to promote both learning and student wellbeing. The recommendations focus on student selection; learning, teaching and assessment; learning environment; and staff development. Examples of educational initiatives from the evidence-base are provided, emphasising proactive and preventive approaches to student wellbeing.
The consensus statement provides specific recommendations for medical schools to consider at all stages of program design and implementation. These are: Design curricula that promote peer support and progressive levels of challenge to students. Employ strategies to promote positive outcomes from stress and to help others in need. Design assessment tasks to foster wellbeing as well as learning. Provide mental health promotion and suicide prevention initiatives. Provide physical health promotion initiatives. Ensure safe and health-promoting cultures for learning in on-campus and clinical settings. Train staff on student wellbeing and how to manage wellbeing concerns.
A broad integrated approach to improving student wellbeing within medical school programs is recommended. Medical schools should work cooperatively with student and trainee groups, and partner with clinical services and other training bodies to foster safe practices and cultures. Initiatives should aim to assist students to develop adaptive responses to stressful situations so that graduates are prepared for the realities of the workplace. Multi-institutional, longitudinal collaborative research in Australia and New Zealand is needed to close critical gaps in the evidence needed by medical schools in our region.
来自澳大利亚和新西兰的医学生福祉共识声明概述了在本地区医学院优化医学生福祉的建议。在全球范围内，医学院都有责任回应学生心理、社会和身体健康方面的关切，但对医学院的指导有限。为了解决这一差距，该声明阐明了与福祉相关的关键概念和问题，并为促进学习和学生福祉的教育项目设计提供了建议。这些建议侧重于学生选拔；学习、教学和评估；学习环境；以及员工发展。从循证医学中提供了教育举措的示例，强调了对学生福祉采取积极主动和预防的方法。
共识声明为医学院在课程设计和实施的所有阶段提供了具体的建议。这些建议包括：设计促进学生同伴支持和逐步挑战的课程。采用促进从压力中获得积极成果并帮助有需要的人的策略。设计评估任务以促进福祉和学习。提供心理健康促进和自杀预防计划。提供身体健康促进计划。确保校内和临床环境中的学习安全和促进健康的文化。培训员工了解学生福祉以及如何处理福祉问题。
建议在医学院课程中采取广泛的综合方法来改善学生的福祉。医学院应与学生和学员团体合作，并与临床服务和其他培训机构合作，培养安全的实践和文化。该倡议旨在帮助学生发展应对压力情况的适应能力，以便毕业生为工作场所的现实做好准备。澳大利亚和新西兰需要进行多机构、纵向合作研究，以缩小本地区医学院所需证据中的关键差距。
