Predicting future performance in medical students. A longitudinal study examining the effects of resilience on low and higher performing students

Abstract

Introduction: Medical students have high rates of distress and burnout, exacerbated by a high academic workload. Resilience is stated to mitigate such stress, and even allow positive adaptations in the face of such challenges. Despite this, no research has examined the relationship of resilience on the academic performance of medical students.

Methods: The goal of our study was to investigate the association between resilience on academic performance. We surveyed all year 2, 3, and 4 medical students (n = 160), and combined this with data on past and future course performance. We conducted an analysis of the internal consistency and validity of the RS-14, suggesting two factors: which we represent as self-assuredness and drive. We then analyzed future course performance using multiple regression.

Results: Models utilizing the combined RS-14 score suggested past-performance as the only significant predictor of future course performance. Considering self-assuredness and drive as separate predictors demonstrated self-assuredness to be a predictor of improved performance in lower-than-average students, whilst drive was a predictor of improvement in higher-than-average students.

Conclusions: We suggest that the conceptualization of resilience needs greater nuance, and consideration in tandem with broader psychosocial concepts, as it may exert different effects for different students.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Glossary

Resilience: Is described as a process of bouncing back from an adverse or challenging event, a personality state, or as a systematised framework for understanding how challenges, stress, and recovery are interrelated.

(Howe et al. 2012; Peng et al. 2014; Greenhill et al. 2015; Olson et al. 2015; Tempski et al. 2015).

Additional information

Funding

The project was funded by a College of Higher Education Learning and Teaching grant from the ANU.

Notes on contributors

Sarath Burgis-Kasthala

Sarath Burgis-Kasthala, MBChB, MRCGP, MMEd, DTM&H is a general practitioner and lecturer in rural health. He has experience in mixed-methods research and has specific interests in medical education, student support and resilience, and international health.

Nicholas Elmitt

Nicholas Elmitt, BA (Hons), MCHaM is a mixed-methods researcher with interests including primary health care, rural health, medical education and international health.

Lillian Smyth

Lillian Smyth, B.A., B.Sc. (Psychol.), (Hons.), Ph.D., F.H.E.A. is a lecturer in medical education in the Medical School at the Australian National University, College of Health and Medicine, Australia. She teaches research methods, data analysis and design and her research focus is the psychology of normative influence in behavior change.

Malcolm Moore

Malcolm Moore, MBBS, FRACGP, MIH is an academic rural clinician, interested in medical communication, medical education, and international health. He is currently leading multiuniversity research into clinical handover and researching outcomes for rurally-trained students and rural doctors. He is currently Head of the Rural Clinical School at the Australian National University.