The question of stress among first-year medical students.

In a study reported in this article, the authors investigated the presence of stress in two successive classes of first-year medical students at a private midwestern medical school. Support groups, didactic sessions, and no-contact control conditions were used. Few differences in personality measures were found among the groups, and all group means were within the normal range. Support groups did not facilitate academic performance. The results bring into question the previously reported extent of chronic stress among students in the first year of medical school as well as the need for support groups in this population.