Mentoring and Perceived Stress Level Among Private Medical Students: A Malaysian Perspective

This study aimed to assess the association between a mentoring program and self-perceived stress among 242 medical students from a private medical faculty in Malaysia. Stress was measured by a Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire. The mean stress level was 18.9 (+4.8). Younger students (<21 years old) had higher stress levels than older students (p=0.011). Students who regularly attended mentoring activities and those who consulted their mentors had lower levels of stress than those who did not (p<0.001). Students who believed that mentoring helped them to manage their problems had lower levels of stress (18.1±3.8) than those who did not (24.6±6.7, p<0.001). Mentoring was seen to reduce stress levels among medical students.