Enhancing Final-Year Medical Students’ Clinical Examinations Performance via a Transdiagnostic ACT-Based Intervention

Nicholas Tze Ping Pang, Eugene Koh, Mohd Amiruddin Mohd Kassim, Wendy Diana Shoesmith, Assis Kamu, Chong Mun Ho (), Jun Rong Ng and Walton Wider
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Nicholas Tze Ping Pang: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
Eugene Koh: Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Mohd Amiruddin Mohd Kassim: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
Wendy Diana Shoesmith: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
Assis Kamu: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
Jun Rong Ng: Department of Surgery, University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Walton Wider: Faculty of Business and Communication, INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: Introduction : Performance anxiety is a transdiagnostic construct similar in both sports and clinical medical examinations. Given that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and other similar therapies have transdiagnostic evidence in improving the performance of athletes, the same approach can be adopted for medical students in improving their performance during clinical examinations. This pilot study aimed to assess the efficacy of a brief ACT-based intervention in improving transdiagnostic performance anxiety in clinical medical students through assessing changes in psychopathology scores (depression, anxiety, and stress) and psychological process variables (psychological flexibility, cognitive fusion, and mindfulness). Methods : Final-year medical students were randomized into intervention and control groups. A one-day ACT-based intervention was delivered to an intervention group, with the control group crossing over one month post intervention. Both groups filled in sociodemographic questionnaires and questionnaires measuring psychological flexibility, cognitive fusion, mindfulness, depression, anxiety, and stress at three time points: T1 (before intervention), T2 (immediately after intervention), and T3 (one month post intervention). Repeated measures ANOVA was employed to assess the change between the intervention and control groups over time. Results and Conclusions : There was a significant change in anxiety scores from T1 to T3. In addition, there were significant improvements in mindfulness, cognitive fusion, and psychological flexibility scores over time in the intervention group compared with the control group. This pilot study builds on small single-sample evidence bases for the efficacy of an ACT-based intervention in non-sports performance enhancement, suggesting that larger-scale randomized trials of similar interventions in clinical medical students may prove equally efficacious.

Keywords: performance enhancement; performance anxiety; psychological flexibility; ACT; transdiagnostic approach; transdiagnostic assessment; transdiagnostic interventions; transdiagnostic dimensions; psychopathology; mental health; health conditions; emotional disorders; implementation; dissemination; cost-effectiveness; prevention; evidence-based psychological interventions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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