Coping with stress in clinical residents and comparison of juniors with Seniors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

The objective of this study was to determine coping with stress abilities of clinical residents at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and to explore whether these abilities differ between Junior and Senior residents or between males and females. Material &

In this cross-sectional study, The Coping Skills Inventory was used for determination of different aspects of coping in a randomly selected sample of clinical residents in 14 different specialties at Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

In all 277 residents were studied. Of these 62.7 percent were at the first or second years of residency, while the other 3 7 .5 percent were at the third or fourth years. The male to female ratio was 1.1. The mean coping score was 64.83. Excellent and very good abilities were observed in 79.8%. The mean self-estimated coping scores was 63.13 that was significantly correlated with the calculated scores (Pearson correlation =0.47, P < 0.001). The mean coping score for Juniors was not significantly different from that of Seniors; but, Juniors were less flexible, resourceful and self-reliant than their Senior counterparts (P = 0.016, P=0.005 and P=0.006, respectively). A significant difference was observed between the mean coping score of females and males (P< 0.001). The most important stressors were sensitive responsibilities, low salaries and sleep deprivation. Long hours of work, nightshifts and multiple roles were more frequently reported by the Juniors than Seniors as major stressors (P= 0.001).

Although a high percentage of residents had very good coping scores. However the difference in coping between genders emphasizes on the importance of support and education for female residents to cope more effectively with their job stress.