Abstract

The preclinical years of medical education is a stressful period in a physician’s training, as many students struggle to maintain personal relationships and interests while performing at a high level academically and maintaining healthy habits. Lacking experienced upperclassmen to turn to for guidance, students in the inaugural classes of the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine may experience additional stress not encountered by students at medical schools that have been established for some time, in addition to the normal stresses in medical school. Aware of this, the Office of Student Affairs held an interactive session with the first year class, faculty, and community physicians to promote discussion regarding the balance of personal and academic life and how this balance can shift during the transition from medical school to the medical career. The responses recorded from this session are presented in the poster.