A mental disorder that impacts an individual’s behavior and results in an inability to control the use of legal or illegal substances such as alcohol, medications, or illegal drugs (National Institutes on Mental Health, 2021).
Published in Chapter:
Common Academic Stress Points and Mental Health Concerns Among Pre-Health and Health Science Students
Patrick G. Corr (The George Washington University, USA), Mandy Siglin (ThriveMed, USA), Kirsti Dyer (The George Washington University, USA), Cynthia Powell (The George Washington University, USA), Donnell Dawson (The George Washington University, USA), Alison Warren (The George Washington University, USA), and Leigh A. Frame (The George Washington University, USA)
Copyright: © 2022
|Pages: 23
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-5969-0.ch006
Abstract
Addressing the mental health and well-being of pre-health students is critically important to ensuring their success through college and entry into advanced training or the workforce. Pre-health students represent some of the most motivated, involved, and engaged students on campus. Retaining these students and ensuring a positive undergraduate experience may help improve the development of a robust and diverse healthcare workforce. This chapter considers academic stress points and common mental health concerns among pre-health and graduate-level clinical students and discusses the implications of poor mental health outcomes among these student populations. This chapter is the first in a two-part series designed to understand the experiences of health science students and potential adverse health outcomes they may experience. The second chapter in this series considers practical approaches for pre-health advisors to foster and encourage well-being among students.