Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Report of the National Task Force on Mental Health andWell-being of Medical Students, 2024 On 26 April 2024, a public notice was issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC) that the anti-ragging cell in NMC had constituted a National Task Force on the 'mental health and well-being of medical students'.Initially, in-person visits to various medical colleges were conducted, where focus group discussions were held with administrators, heads of departments, and students.This Task Force conducted an online survey (n=37 962 respondents) among undergraduate (UG; n=25 590) and postgraduate (PG; n=5337) medical students, as well as the faculty (n=7035) in medical colleges (using Google forms) which was completed by 3 May 2024.Subsequently, a meeting was organized in hybrid mode, with representatives of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association India (FORDA), Resident Doctors Association (RDA) and Association of Doctors and Medical Students (ADAMS), to seek opinions.Additionally, the task force integrated insights from several relevant government documents and engagements.The report of the National Task Force on Mental Health and Well-being of Medical Students, 2024 was released by NMC on 14 August 2024.The report stated that 84% of PG medical students experienced 'moderate to very high' stress-levels, while 64% said that workload adversely affected their mental health and well-being.It was also noted that an 'alarmingly high' 27.8% of UG and 15.3% of PG medical students had voluntarily indicated having a diagnosed mental health disorder, and 16.2% UG students and 31.2%PG students reported having had suicidal ideation.Among PG medical students, 19% had expressed the need to alleviate stress through substance use.Long working hours, continuous duty days, and inadequate infrastructure and support were identified as the key factors contributing to the stress.The report also documented that high expense of medical education was linked to stress.A large majority of PG medical students (72.2%) expressed that their stipend was insufficient.Discrimination (31% PG medical students) and fear of failure (51.6% UG medical students) were other factors profoundly affecting the mental health of the medical students.The core recommendations of the Task Force included universal recommendations for medical colleges, medical students, their family members and faculty members; identification of high-risk groups and referral; and recommendations for persons with mental illness and attempted suicide.Recommendations for medical colleges included conducting an orientation programme at the time of joining; involving family members during the induction programme; anti-ragging measures; organizing awareness campaigns to educate students and faculty about mental health issues; implementing a 24/7 support system in the campus; providing free treatment including medicines for the physical and mental health issues of medical students in the campus; proper security measures including closed-circuit television monitoring; provision of basic amenities to medical students including common rooms, gymnasiums, sports and other recreational facilities and a 24/7 available
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Rural Development Administration
OpenAlex ID: W4407383053