LAUSR

OBJECTIVES The aim of our study was to acknowledge the levels of stress, the main stressors and the difficulties of being a dentistry and medicine student. METHODS A total of 994 clinical students from both dental and medical undergraduate degrees at Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków, Poland were enrolled in the study, of whom 830 were medical and 164 were dental students. We used two independent international stress questionnaires, both validated for the Polish translation and environment: the Perceived Stress Scale and the Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument. RESULTS Both medical and dental students had high levels of stress: 20.9 ± 7.37 and 21.24 ± 6.84, respectively. The level of stress was slightly higher among dental students, however, the results were not significant (p = 0.767). Dental students significantly more often were concerned that they will not be able to endure the long hours and responsibilities associated with clinical training (p = 0.001), however, medical student significantly more often agreed that medical school fosters a sense of anonymity and feelings of isolation among the students (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Polish clinical medical and dental students experience high levels of stress, which is slightly higher among dental ones.