OUTSTANDING MEDICAL STUDENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE: A COMPLEXITY AND DISPARITY BASED ON GENDER AND SOCIAL STATUS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Medical studies are perceived as stressful and data from the literature indicates that mental health of medical school students worsens in the course of their studies. The mental well-being and quality of life (QOL) of medical students have been of interest for several decades. The QOL of outstanding medical students in Saudi Arabia has not been explored. Therefore, the current study examined the QOL of outstanding medical students and investigated the differences based on gender and social status. The results indicate that male students and married students (male and female) had higher QOL in all domains except that of social relation. Female students and single students (male and female) had higher scores in social relations domain. The lowest mean score for both male and female students was observed in the psychological domain, which indicates the need for preventive counselling services to be integrated into the medical school curriculum.