Alice Murariu, Livia Bobu, Ramona Feier, Gabriela Geletu, Carmen Savin
Abstract
The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on a sample of 112 students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of Iasi, Romania, with the aim to assess the stress level perceived by the students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th year of study.
Material and methods: For this study I used my own questionnaire adapted after the Dental Environmental Stress scale. Results: 68% of the students mentioned the lack of free time, 65% said the curriculum is too vast and the timetable is too tight, and 63% did not have a positive opinion about university’s rules and regulations. There are statistically significant differences in terms of gender distribution, in the sense that female students are more stressed than male students, and the 3rd year students considered, by comparison to the students in the 4th and 5th years of study, that the biggest source of stress is determined by their academic performance and the difficulty to acquire practical skills. Only 24% of the whole sample did not complain about any physical or psychological problems caused by stress. In conclusion, the results of the study should trigger a change of the academic curriculum through the reduction of the number of classes for certain subjects which do not have specialized practical training and reconsideration of the rigid regulations of the university.