Stress among Medical Residents in Saudi Arabia
Stress refers to a state when a person feels exhausted or having tension which is often associated with overly demanding tasks. This literature research will utilize various peer-reviewed articles and studies that have tackled the question of stress among residents. The focus of this research was work-related stress among medical residents and the coping strategies in Saudi Arabia. The primary key search words for the study are stress, medical residents, coping, and Saudi Arabia. The literature review will utilize six peer-reviewed academic articles. This paper will briefly but precisely cover the information obtained from the materials about the research topic.
High Levels of Stress Among Medical Residents
Medical residents are often exposed to adverse working conditions such as long hours at work as well as a lot of demands at work. This has resulted in the majority of residents suffering from high levels of stress according to the study conducted in Saudi Arabia in 2012 (Alosaimi et al. 504). Stress affects the quality of care offered to patients as well as the psychological and physical well-being of the residents. Although various researchers have studied stress among medical residents, little effort has been put in the study of coping strategies for work-related stress (Mitwalli et al. 100).
The Causes and Impacts of Stress Among Residents
In Saudi Arabia, the number of residents and residency programs are increasing in an attempt to increase the number of local practicing physicians. Nevertheless, minimal data has been found about stress related to work and the strategies used by residents in Saudi Arabia to cope with the stresses. The primary cause of stress among residents is long working hours and their demanding jobs (Alosaimi et al. 605). Other reasons include marital problems, financial, family-related, sleep deprivation, and self-harming thoughts among others (Al-Maddah et al. 78). Regarding the gender that is more affected by work-related stress, females are more impacted than male residents. Impacts of stress among residents include decreased concentration span, increased distractibility, deterioration in both short and long-term memory, and increased error rate in cognitive healthcare tasks (Goldhagen et al. 525).
Coping Strategies for Work-Related Stress
Scholars have categorized stress-coping strategies into maladaptive, adaptive, emotion-focused and problem-focused strategies. The effectiveness of a stress-coping approach depends on the situation and context of the stressor. However, psychologists discourage utilization of maladaptive-coping strategies including disengagement, drug use, self-blame, venting and denial (Alosaimi et al. 504). These strategies result in anxiety, low quality of life, reduced work performance, and depression among the healthcare providers and residents. Some of the adaptive strategies used by residents include the use of religion, acceptance, planning, and active coping (Mitwalli et al. 100).
Challenges and the Importance of Further Research
Maladaptive strategies have been highly linked with females, high levels of stress and having a history of depression and anxiety or any other psychiatric related disorders. Researchers stipulate that despite the various coping strategies suggested for residents, no single method has been found 100% efficient for stress management (Alosaimi et al. 504). From a study that was conducted in Saudi Arabia, approximately 5% of the residents use religion as a stress coping tool hence showing the importance of religion in conservative countries (Alosaimi et al. 605). 45% are likely to engage in maladaptive strategies most preferably was the use of drugs and self-blame, and it was in most cases related to high-stress level. Residents who opted for adaptive coping approaches were linked with low levels of stress. Female residents utilized coping strategies compared to males, especially adoption of the maladaptive strategies hence explaining why most female residents have high-stress levels than the males. Scholars argue that most residents end up in depression and anxiety because of their failure to resolve work-related stress (Mata et al. 2380). Minimal health institutions are now providing training and education on stress management in Saudi Arabia to avoid the effects caused by work-related stress to both residents and their patients (Goldhagen et al. 525). Therefore, it is crucial for further research to be conducted regarding stress in residency to come up with practical coping strategies.
Work Cited
Al-Maddah, Esraa M., Badria K. Al-Dabal, and Mohammad S. Khalil. "Prevalence of sleep deprivation and relation with depressive symptoms among medical residents in King Fahd University Hospital, Saudi Arabia." Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 15.1 (2015): 78.
Alosaimi, Fahad D., Auroabah Almufleh, Sana Kazim, and Bandar Aladwani."Stress-coping strategies among medical residents in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional national study." Pakistan journal of medical sciences 31.3 (2015): 504.
Alosaimi, Fahad D., Sana N. Kazim, Auroabah S. Almufleh, Bandar S. Aladwani, and Abdullah S. Alsubaie. "Prevalence of stress and its determinants among residents in Saudi Arabia." Saudi Medical Journal 36.5 (2015): 605.
Goldhagen, Brian E., Karen Kingsolver, Sandra S. Stinnett, and Jullia A. Rosdahl. "Stress and burnout in residents: impact of mindfulness-based resilience training." Advances in medical education and practice 6 (2015): 525.
Mata, Douglas A., Marco A. Ramos, Narinder Bansal, Rida Khan, Constance Guille, Emanuele Di Angelantonio, and Srijan Sen.. "Prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms among resident physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Jama 314.22 (2015): 2373-2383.
Mitwalli, H. A., K. M. Al Ghamdi, and N. A. Moussa. "Perceptions, attitudes, and practices towards research among resident physicians in training in Saudi Arabia." EMHJ-Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. 2014; 20 (2): (2015): 99-104
