First Year Burnout and Coping in One US Medical School.

OBJECTIVE: Physician burnout is increasingly recognized as important for patient safety and physician wellness. Though several studies have examined burnout among medical students, few studies have examined the relationships between coping strategies and burnout. We hoped to preliminarily examine these relationships among first year medical students. METHODS: This cross-sectional study administered to first year medical students uses validated psychologic assessment tools including the COPE inventory and the MIB-HS inventory to assess correlations between the results. Standard correlational statistic methods were used to analyze the data in reaching our conclusions. RESULTS: A total of 167 students participated, including 53% females. The adaptive coping strategy of planning was significantly associated with decreased levels of emotional exhaustion and a preserved sense of personal accomplishment on the burnout assessment survey. Additionally, the adaptive coping strategy of positive reinterpretation/growth was also significantly associated with preservation of the sense of personal accomplishment. CONCLUSION: These results highlight the benefit of using adaptive coping strategies to prevent burnout. These data emphasize the importance of providing students programming during early medical training that encourages students to develop and enhance these strategies to promote wellness while in training and beyond.

The anabolic steroids testosterone propionate and nandrolone, but not 17alpha-methyltestosterone, induce conditioned place preference in adult mice.

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are often misused by adolescents and athletes. Their effects vary according to chemical structure and metabolism, route of administration, and AAS regimen. In this study, adult C57Bl/6 male mice were systemically exposed to testosterone propionate (TP), nandrolone or 17alpha-methyltestosterone (17alpha-meT), type I, type II and type III AAS, respectively, in order to determine the hedonic or aversive properties of each drug. For this purpose, the conditioned place preference (CPP) test was employed at three different AAS doses (0.075, 0.75 and 7.5 mg/kg). Other behavioral domains monitored were light-dark transitions (side changes) and general activity. TP shifted place preference at all doses tested, and nandrolone shifted place preference at 0.75 and 7.5 mg/kg, but not at 0.075 mg/kg, the lower dose tested. Conversely, mice receiving 17alpha-meT did not show alteration in the preference score. The lower dose of nandrolone did modify exploratory-based anxiety showing a decrease in light-dark transitions if compared to vehicle-treated animals, while mice treated with TP or 17alpha-meT were not affected. Our data suggest that when studying hedonic and rewarding properties of synthetic androgens, distinction has to be made based on type of AAS and metabolism.