Stress, Stressors and Coping Strategies Among House Officers in A Malaysian Hospital

Objective:medical housemanship training has always been regarded as a highly stressful environment to doctors. this article described findings on stress, stressors and coping strategies among house officers in a malaysian hospital.methods:a cross-sectional study was conducted on house officers in a malaysian hospital. the 12 items general health questionnaire (ghq-12), general stressors questionnaire (gsq) and brief cope inventory were administered to measure perceived stress, sources of stress and coping strategies among house officers respectively. data was analysed using spss version 12.results:forty two house officers participated in this study. this study found that approximately 31% of the house officers were in distress. the top five stressors were fears of making mistakes that can lead to serious consequences, work overload, working with uncooperative colleagues, doing work that mentally straining and feeling of being underpaid. the most frequent coping strategies used by house officers were religion, acceptance and self-distraction.conclusions:this study found that there was a high percentage of distressed house officers. it also found that major stressors were related to performance pressure. the main coping strategy used by house officer was emotion-focused coping