Perceived Stress and Emotional Intelligence in Medical Students

The medical science has undergone a tremendous evolution in the past century, now medical professionals are able to cure the disorders that were earlier taken a toll of millions' life. Stress and its negative consequence on health professionals have received relatively little attention in the literature in past. Although, the potential detriment of hectic life style for health professional has been raised recently and irony is that health professionals who help patients to get rid of stress are also burdened with stress. The aims of this study is twofold: (1) to provide awareness regarding the prevalence of stress in medical students and (2) to assess the association between stress and Emotional intelligence that is generally considered as a buffer against stress. This cross-sectional study examined 100 medical students out of which 50 were female and 50 were male. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) were administered. The data obtained for the variables under study have been subjected to different statistical analysis. Out of the total sample (hundred) of medical students, approximately 71% of them found to have high level of perceived stress. In addition, significant difference was found in EIS scores between female and males students. The findings also indicated significant negative correlation between perceived stress and EI. This study suggested that the prevalence of perceived stress in medical students is high irrespective of their gender. In view of the fact that in present study too occurrence of perceived stress is almost similar that found in the other societies. Hence, authors recommended appropriate interventions (stress management) for them so that they will capable to learn complex vocational skills for making them self-sufficient and independent professionals.