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Jan 15, 2016Article Details
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A faculty-led solution to transport-related stress among South African medical students
Abstract
Objective. To determine the student-perceived benefits of a faculty-led, grassroots student transport service for economically disadvantaged medical students. The service has been newly developed and implemented at the School of Medicine, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Methods. A brief qualitative questionnaire survey, with Likert scales and free text, was administered to participants in the Student Transport Project after its first 21 months of operation. Students’ views of the impact and effect of the project on their circumstances were surveyed.
Results. During its first 2 years of operation, the Student Transport Project was used by 116 students in their clinical third - fifth years, representing 16.6% of students in these years of training. All the participating students using the shuttle service were from previously disadvantaged communities and were economically disadvantaged. A survey among the participating students yielded an 84% response rate; they all felt that the service significantly reduced their levels of financial and emotional stress, and many believed that the project positively impacted on their academic performance and assisted them in remaining in medical school.
Conclusion. The basic, but novel, student transport service described in this article can have a dramatic effect in reducing medical student stress and, potentially, improving academic performance and success. It is hoped that others in lesser-developed countries in Africa and beyond may replicate such a student-centred transport initiative at their schools.
