Perceived Stress, Grit, and Self-Care Behaviors in First-Year Medical Students.

Medical students experience more stress than the general population, which over time can cause mental and physical disease, including burnout. Identifying factors impacting stress during early medical training could inform strategies to minimize its impacts throughout training and in clinical practice. This study surveyed 238 first-year osteopathic medical students to assess stress (Perceived Stress Scale; PSS), grit, sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; PSQI), physical activity (Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Score; LTPA), and nutrition habits (Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants; REAP) within the first 2 weeks of starting medical school and again 10 weeks later.