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Stegers-Jager KM, Savas M, van der Waal J, et al. Gender-specific effects of raising Year-1 standards on medical students' academic performance and stress levels. Med Educ. 2020;54(6):538-546doi: 10.1111/medu.14068.
Stegers-Jager, K. M., Savas, M., van der Waal, J., van Rossum, E. F. C., & Woltman, A. M. (2020). Gender-specific effects of raising Year-1 standards on medical students' academic performance and stress levels. Medical education, 54(6), 538-546. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14068
Stegers-Jager, Karen M, et al. "Gender-specific effects of raising Year-1 standards on medical students' academic performance and stress levels." Medical education vol. 54,6 (2020): 538-546. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14068
Stegers-Jager KM, Savas M, van der Waal J, van Rossum EFC, Woltman AM. Gender-specific effects of raising Year-1 standards on medical students' academic performance and stress levels. Med Educ. 2020 Jun;54(6):538-546. doi: 10.1111/medu.14068. Epub 2020 Mar 20. PMID: 31960979; PMCID: PMC7317944.
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Med Educ. 2020 Jun;54(6):538-546. doi: 10.1111/medu.14068. Epub 2020 Mar 20.

Gender-specific effects of raising Year-1 standards on medical students' academic performance and stress levels.

Medical education

Karen M Stegers-Jager, Mesut Savas, Jeroen van der Waal, Elisabeth F C van Rossum, Andrea M Woltman

Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medical Education Research Rotterdam, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
  2. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
  3. Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

PMID: 31960979 PMCID: PMC7317944 DOI: 10.1111/medu.14068

Abstract

CONTEXT: Medical schools are challenged to create academic environments that stimulate students to improve their study progress without compromising their well-being.

OBJECTIVES: This prospective comparative cohort study investigated the effects of raising Year-1 standards on academic performance and on students' chronic psychological and biological stress levels.

METHODS: In a Dutch medical school, students within the last Bachelor's degree cohort (n = 410) exposed to the 40/60 (67%) credit Year-1 standard (67%-credit cohort) were compared with students within the first cohort (n = 413) exposed to a 60/60 (100%) credit standard (100%-credit cohort). Main outcome measures were Year-1 pass rate (academic performance), mean score on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, psychological stress) and hair cortisol concentration (HCC, biological stress).

RESULTS: Year-1 pass rates were significantly higher in the 100%-credit cohort (odds ratio [OR] 4.65). Interestingly, there was a significant interaction effect (OR 0.46), indicating that raising the standard was more effective for male than for female students. PSS scores (n = 234 [response rate [RR]: 57%] and n = 244 [RR: 59%] in the 67%- and 100%-credit cohorts, respectively) were also significantly higher in the 100%-credit cohort (F

CONCLUSIONS: Raising the Year-1 performance standard increased academic performance, most notably in male students. However, it also increased levels of perceived stress, especially in female students. In particular, the combination of high levels of perceived stress and biological stress, as measured by long-term cortisol, was related to poor academic performance. The study suggests a relationship between raising performance standards and student well-being, with differential effects in male and female students.

© 2020 The Authors. Medical Education published by Association for the Study of Medical Education and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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