Factors affecting test anxiety: a qualitative analysis of medical students’ views

TY - JOUR

T1 - Factors affecting test anxiety

T2 - a qualitative analysis of medical students’ views

AU - Wadi, Majed

AU - Yusoff, Muhamad Saiful Bahri

AU - Abdul Rahim, Ahmad Fuad

AU - Lah, Nik Ahmad Zuky Nik

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022/1/6

Y1 - 2022/1/6

N2 - Background: Medical students are vulnerable to test anxiety (TA), which impacts their professional lives and jeopardizes the optimal health care of their patients. The qualitative exploration of TA among medical students is crucial to understanding the problem. Hence, this study examined medical students’ insights into TA and their suggestions on how to reduce it. Methods: We conducted a phenomenological study on medical students at a public university. We utilized focus group discussions (FGDs) to investigate their experiences of TA. The FGDs were transcribed verbatim, and these transcripts were analyzed using Atlas.ti software. The thematic analysis followed the recommended guidelines. Results: Seven FGD sessions were conducted with 45 students. Three major themes emerged: the students, their academic resources, and the examiner. Each theme comprised mutually exclusive subthemes. The “students” theme was divided into negative vs. positive thoughts and self-negligence vs. self-care, “academic recources” into heavy curriculum vs. facilitative curricular aids, and “examiner” into criticism vs. feedback and strict vs. kind approaches. Conclusion: This study provides a solid foundation for policymakers and decision makers in medical education to improve current assessment practices and student well-being. Medical students will be able to significantly alter and reduce TA if they are provided with additional psychological support and their examiners are trained on how to deal with examinees.

AB - Background: Medical students are vulnerable to test anxiety (TA), which impacts their professional lives and jeopardizes the optimal health care of their patients. The qualitative exploration of TA among medical students is crucial to understanding the problem. Hence, this study examined medical students’ insights into TA and their suggestions on how to reduce it. Methods: We conducted a phenomenological study on medical students at a public university. We utilized focus group discussions (FGDs) to investigate their experiences of TA. The FGDs were transcribed verbatim, and these transcripts were analyzed using Atlas.ti software. The thematic analysis followed the recommended guidelines. Results: Seven FGD sessions were conducted with 45 students. Three major themes emerged: the students, their academic resources, and the examiner. Each theme comprised mutually exclusive subthemes. The “students” theme was divided into negative vs. positive thoughts and self-negligence vs. self-care, “academic recources” into heavy curriculum vs. facilitative curricular aids, and “examiner” into criticism vs. feedback and strict vs. kind approaches. Conclusion: This study provides a solid foundation for policymakers and decision makers in medical education to improve current assessment practices and student well-being. Medical students will be able to significantly alter and reduce TA if they are provided with additional psychological support and their examiners are trained on how to deal with examinees.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85122348139

U2 - 10.1186/s40359-021-00715-2

DO - 10.1186/s40359-021-00715-2

M3 - Article

C2 - 34991718

AN - SCOPUS:85122348139

SN - 2050-7283

VL - 10

SP - 1

EP - 8

JO - BMC Psychology

JF - BMC Psychology

M1 - 8

ER -