Future Anxiety among Medical Doctor Candidates: A Cross-Sectional Study from Türkiye

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the level of future anxiety in senior medical faculty students and the factors affecting this situation.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, which are carried out between 1-31 March 2024 with undetermined sample size. The reach rate was 94.3% and included 300 senior medical school students. Written and verbal consent were obtained from the participants. The data was obtained by face-to face interview method using a survey form consisting of socio-demographic characteristics and educational process questions and the “Future Anxiety Scale in University Students”. Evaluation of data was done on a statistical package for social science SPSS version 15.
Results: Of the participants 51.0% were male and 65.3% were 24 years old or younger. Of the participants 95.3% were single and 43.3% stayed with family. The average future anxiety score is 54.9±12.9. While 52.0% of the participants were exposed to occupational violence at least once during the education process, 86.3% of those who were exposed to occupational violence stated that psychological/verbal violence was the most common type of violence. Among the participants’ postgraduation plans, 90.3% wanted to become a specialist physician, while 35.0% stated that they were considering going abroad after graduation. Occupational violence is the most common reason for going abroad with 74.4%. The average future anxiety is higher in women, those with a poor economic situation, those who have experienced occupational violence, and those who are considering going abroad (p<0.05). The three most common reasons of future anxiety were occupational violence
(75.6%), malpractice (72.5%), and mobbing (65.3%), respectively.
Conclusion: The level of future anxiety among medical doctor candidates is high. A high level of anxiety future may pose a risk to the doctor candidates’ own health, family, and public health, as well as cause various problems in their professional lives.