Shift Work in Medical Students: A Cross-sectional Study on Medical Interns

Background: Medical students are required to do part of their services in different shifts. This pattern can harm their health and education. This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between shift work and the health status of medical interns. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 104 medical interns of Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The data collection instrument included Survey of Shift workers (SOS) and Goldberg s General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages, as well as analytical statistics (independent t-test, Chi-square, and correlation) was performed. Results: According to the results, married and female students made up 75% and 18% of the participants, respectively. The mean age of participants was 25 ± 1 years. The statistical analysis showed that almost two thirds (71.6%) of students did not have appropriate mental health status and there was a significant relationship between mental health status and gastrointestinal problems (P= 0.041). There was a significant relationship between shiftwork satisfaction and its adverse effects on students family life (P 0.05). About 81.1% of students stated that they were unsatisfied with their shifts. In addition, students suffered from relatively high prevalence of digestive problems (76.3%) and insomnia (63.2%). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated a high prevalence of shift work problems among medical interns. It is recommended to train medical interns about the effects of shift work problems on their life and possible solutions.