Каталог статей из сборников научных конференций и научных журналов- Studies of first-year medical university students internal and external adaptation process criteria

L. V. Snegireva, Candidate of Biological Sciences,

assistant professor,

ORCID 0000-0002-8935-0511,

e-mail: sneglv1@gmail.com

Kursk State Medical University,

Kursk., Russia

The successful university adaptation of the first-year students is the main requirement of professional education [5]. Modern researchers consider various aspects of students' adaptation process, such as: social, psychological and professional adaptation [2]. In addition, scientists study both internal and external adaptation process criteria. Internal (or subjective) adaptation process criteria are attributed to psychological and emotional instability and discomfort, fear and anxiety senses, self-appraisal decrease [3]. The external adaptation process criteria include academic and social activity deviation [4]. University educational process needs qualitative and quantitative assessment of students’ adaptation process in the reason of successful professional education, individual physical and mental health saving [1]. In this regard, the aim of the research was to study internal and external medical university students’ adaptation process criteria correlation. The following research tasks were formulated (posed):

1.             To grade the internal (subjective) adaptation process criteria by individual anxiety level

2. To determine the external (objective) adaptation process criteria by individual academic rate

3. To study the correlation between subjective and objective adaptation process criteria for the first-year students of medical university.

Material and methods. The study involved 198 first-year students of Kursk State medical university at the end of autumn semester. To quantify internal adaptation process criteria, anxiety level for each student respectively was used. Anxiety level was defined according the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), developed by Zigmond A. S. and Snaith R. P. in 1983 [6]. The HADS has proved high validity, characterized by easy usage and processing. HADS excludes anxiety symptoms, that can be interpreted as somatic disease manifestation (for example, dizziness, headaches, etc.), to indicate (measure) just anxiety psychological manifestations. HADS 7 points with 4 possible answers is accompanied by instruction: "Read each statement attentively and mark the most relevant answer to match last week feeling. Do not hesitate too long over each statement. Your first reaction will always be more true". To interpret the results, the following range is taken:

0–7 - normal anxiety level

8 and above – excessive anxiety level.

To quantify external (objective) adaptation process criteria the results of students’ rating control in Physics were analyzed.

Results. Analysis of anxiety level allowed to distribute examinees into 2 groups (A and B) in accordance with their anxiety level. The first group (A) included results of 132 (67 %) medical students with normal anxiety level (from 0 to 7). The anxiety level average value for this group was 4.1. The second group (B) contained results of 66 (33 %) examinees with excessive anxiety level (from 8 to 19) and with the average value about 10.8.

Next we analysed students’ academic rate in groups A and B. Examinees with high results of educational activity were represented in both groups. The fifth part of the group B (students with excessive anxiety level) was taken by high academic rate examinees with ratings ranged from 71 to 88 out of 100. We found, that students with the high rate of academic progress experience additionally to general for the first-year students’ fears (fear of inconsistency (discrepancy) the expectations of parents, fear of failure, etc.) the discordance of mismatch to their own academic results. Anxiety level for examinees with high results of educational activity is 13.2 with respect to the group B average value -10.1. Disconformity does not allow such students to use their intellectual potential fully and to demonstrate appropriate academic results. This fact is confirmed by analysis of group A results. The group A (normal anxiety level) consists of 7,5 % of high academic rate examinees with rating in average about 81. Group B (excessive anxiety level) students have respectively low result of educational activity (77). Anxiety level of high academic rate students in group A is 1.1 (less, than the average for the group: 4.1). Thus, self-confident examinees take university adaptation period more easily, getting better academic results, than excessive anxiety level students.

It would be useful to note, that group B (excessive anxiety level) included 7.6 % examinees with poor results of educational activity (rating from 22 to 50 with the average value 33.5). Anxiety level of low academic rate students (11.3) exceeded the average value for the group B (10.1). Poor results of educational activity leads to excessive anxiety level, that in turn causes concentration loss. As the result, examinees get academic regress, leading again to excessive anxiety level. In contrast, 4.5 % of low academic rate students with rating in average about 31 and anxiety level about 3 belong to group A (normal anxiety level). It was found, that such examinees are not motivated, and the lock of academic progress is result of their low social activity and some doubts about future profession, but not adaptation process.

According to our research results, more than a third of first-year students are affected by university adaptation process. This process gives strong influence on medical students on both internal and external levels. It can be concluded, that highly motivated examinees experience great difficulties in university adaptation process, and good academic results become harder to achieve for first-year medical students because of strong emotional stresses. Academic fail causes increase of anxiety level that in turn leads to inability to concentrate in studies. Thus students are not able to use their full intellectual potential because of complicated adaptation. In opposite, not motivated examinees are unaffected by university adaptation process. Their anxiety level remains normal regardless to their academic results.

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