Mental health differences in medical students based on curriculum and gender

Abstract

On average, students who were either male or in the PBL curriculum experienced less mental distress in the form of anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion than their peers. While gender continues to be an established factor in how mental distress is experienced, the reduced levels of emotional exhaustion in PBL students is a novel finding that can potentially shed light on how to better optimize medical education. Despite the inherent selection bias and lower number of PBL students, to our knowledge, this is the first study comparing two different curricula within a single institution. This finding along with a focus on good sleep and exercise habits may provide a path for improving mental health in medical students.