Emotional maturity of medical students impacting their adult learning skills in a newly established public medical school at the east coast of Malaysian Peninsula

Abstract

Emotional maturity (EM) is defined as the ability of an individual to respond to situations, control emotions, and behave in an adult manner when dealing with others. EM is associated with adult learning skill, which is an important aspect of professional development as stated in the principles of andragogy. These principles are basically a characteristic feature of adult learning, which is defined as “the entire range of formal, non-formal, and informal learning activities that are undertaken by adults after an initial education and training, which result in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills”. The purpose of this study is to find out the influence of EM on adult learning among Years I and II medical students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). The study population included preclinical medical students of UniSZA from Years I and II of the academic session 2015/2016. The convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. Data were collected using “EM scale” to evaluate emotional level and adult learning scale to assess the adult learning scores. Out of 120 questionnaires, only six response sheets were not complete and the remaining 114 (95%) were complete. Among the study participants, 23.7% (27) and 76.3% (87) were males and females, respectively. The data were then compiled and analyzed using SPSS Version 22. The Pearson’s correlation method was used to find the significance of their association. The results revealed a significant correlation between EM and adult learning scores (r=0.40, p<0.001). Thus, the study result supports the prediction, and based on the current findings, it can be concluded that there is a significant correlation between EM and adult learning and it has an effect on the students. Medical faculty members should give more emphasis on these aspects to produce health professionals. Henceforward, researchers can expect with optimism that the country will create more rational medical doctors.

Video abstract

Point your SmartPhone at the code above. If you have a QR code reader the video abstract will appear. Or use:

http://youtu.be/1AqgVbzYK4g

Keywords:

• adult learning skill
• emotional maturity
• medical students
• UniSZA
• Malaysia

Acknowledgments

The authors are much grateful to those medical students of UniSZA, who participated in this study. The authors would also like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all members of UniSZA Human Research Ethical Committee (UHREC), especially to the Chairman Professor Dato’ Dr Ahmad Zubaidi Abdul Latif, MD (UKM), MMED (UM), FRCS (Edinburgh). Dato’ Zubaidi currently holds the position of the Vice-Chancellor of the UniSZA. The authors would also like to express special thanks to Dr. Myat Moe Thwe Aung for her help in analyzing the data obtained in this study. As a final point, the authors express their gratitude to Dr. Zubair M Kamal, Coordinator, Sleep Research Unit, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada, for his comment and notes. This research was funded by UniSZA DPU grant.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.