Self Care Practices and Career Identity Development among Cuban Medical School Students

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Health, Growth, Injury

Abstract

Medical school students experience high levels of psychological distress (Slonim, et al., 2015). This psychological distress increases throughout their years in medical school and impacts health behaviors, such as sleep and exercise, which can lead to increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms, as well as excessive alcohol consumption and academic underperformance (Gold et al., 2014; Slonim et al., 2015). Importantly, prior work suggests that engagement in self care routines or recreational activities can help ameliorate the negative effects of psychological distress among medical school students (Ball et al., 2002; Shaikh et al., 2004). Limited work, however, has investigated the differential role of engaging in various forms of self-care activities simultaneously, and the impact on stress reduction and career identity development (i.e., belongingness in the field of medicine). Furthermore, scant work has considered the role of gender and race in medical students’ engagement in self-care practices. In the current study, we examine these associations with a racially diverse medical student population from Cuba.

Notably, prior research tends to exclude recreational and creative activities as a form of self-care, with a primarily focus on alcohol use, sleep, and exercise (Ball et al., 2002). In this study, we examined the self-care strategies and practices used by Cuban medical students to manage their stress levels across the different years in medical school. We also examined whether these activities differed by important demographics, such as race (i.e., skin color), and gender.

Data from the current mixed method study were collected from 886 students (Mage= 21.48, SD = 2.21) attending five medical schools in Cuba. Students completed surveys with likert-scale and open-ended questions during classroom time. Student data was collected across all years in medical school; 1st ( 14.8%), 2nd (9.7%), 3rd (23.5%), 4th (18.8%), 5th (11.5%), and 6th year (19.4%). Responses were translated and coded by a team of Cuban and U.S. research assistants. Students reported their sense of belonging in the field of medicine (M=4.46, SD = 1.67; 1 = not at all, 5 = very much) and answered open ended questions (e.g., “What do you do to relax during the school year?”).

Preliminary findings from coded qualitative data suggest that students most commonly endorsed engaging with art and media (e.g., creating art, visiting museums; 59%), socializing (e.g., beach; 36%), spending time with social networks (e.g., visiting friends and family; 26%), and physical activity (e.g., dancing, exercise; 18%). Futhere, findings using ANOVAs revealed that self-care practices differed significantly by school year, gender, and race. To gain a holistic understanding of medical students’ experiences, follow-up analyses will include conducting latent class analysis to determine whether patterns of self-care practices are differentially linked with important demographic variables and student career identity development in the field of medicine. To our knowledge, this is the first study to incorporate a variety of self-care practices to understand the multiple coping strategies that diverse students utilize throughout their years in medical school to inform their well-being.

Authors

• Alexis Meza, University of California - Riverside
  Presenting Author

• Brenda Rincon, University of California - Riverside
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jaqueline Dighero, University of California, Riverside
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daisy E. Camacho-Thompson, California State University - Los Angeles
  Non-Presenting Author

• Diamond Bravo, University of California - Riverside
  Non-Presenting Author