CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES FACED BY MEDICAL STUDENTS: MEDICAL STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Background: Medical school is hard on students, especially in the early years. They have to keep up with a heavy academic load while also dealing with mental strain and upcoming big changes in their social lives. First-year MBBS students tend to feel this the most, since they're moving from the predictable world of school into a tough, self-driven kind of learning that they've never experienced before. Things like high academic standards, frequent exams, lack of sleep, and weak institutional support all pile up, contributing to stress, burnout, and poor well-being in this group. The aim of this study was to examine the difficulties the first-year medical students encounter and to see them from their perspectives. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Lahore Medical and Dental College over a six month period. The participants were first-year MBBS students from the 2024–2025 session, who were recruited using non probability convenience sampling. Information was collected through a validated, structured questionnaire covering academic, psychological, and social difficulties, along with how students were coping. Students filled out the questionnaire anonymously after their Block 1 exams. We used SPSS version 26 for the analysis and applied descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, and percentage). A p-value of <0.05 was treated as statistically significant. Results: Out of the 150 students who took part, 58% were female, and 42% were male. Most (67.3%) had come from an F.Sc. background, and 58.7% were day scholars. Quite strikingly, 70% said they were sleeping less than 6 hours a night. Students were dealing with numerous academic pressures at once. Grading policies rated the heaviest burden (M = 3.79), with the volume of coursework close behind (M = 3.53). Test anxiety, while clearly familiar to most, was rated a bit lower (M = 3.42). Around 70.7% said their workload was causing them moderate to high stress. On the psychological side, almost half (49.3%) said that they often felt overwhelmed, and roughly 42% reported moderate-to-high burnout. Institutional support didn't fare well either, with mental health support (1.83) and work-life balance (2.01) both scoring low. Female students generally reported higher stress than males in most areas. Conclusion: For students who are just starting out in MBBS, the transition can rarely be easy. They're constantly trying to keep up with overwhelming academic demands while their mental health and sleep slip down the priority list. What's perhaps more concerning than these struggles themselves is how often students seem to face them on their own. Our study shows that stress, burnout, and lack of sleep aren't isolated cases; they're widespread and tightly linked. Yet institutional responses haven't kept up with what students actually need. Mental health services remain underdeveloped, and not much real attention is paid to helping the students maintain any kind of balance in their lives. Bridging these gaps will require a more joined-up approach: mentoring that helps newcomers find their footing, accessible mental health care, and skill-based training that prepares students to handle the heavy workload of medical education.