Affiliations: [a] Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| [b] Department of Nursing, Medical College, Jingchu University of Technology, Jingmen, China
| [c] Department of Nursing, Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Correspondence:
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Addresses for correspondence: Lijuan Xiong, MSN, RN, Prof., Department of Nursing, Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China. E-mail: xhxlj@hust.edu.cn. Mei Chan Chong, Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: mcchong@um.edu.my.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to the study.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Adaption to clinical work during the internship can induce several stressors among medical students, especially in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Particularly, job stress could be linked to the development of psychological traits and the formation of the professional identity of medical interns. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to explore the relationship between job stress, psychological capital, and professional identity through a mediation analysis of Chinese medical interns. METHODS:A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 30 hospitals and clinics in China from June 2021 to March 2022. A total of 665 medical interns filled out questionnaires related to demographic questions, psychological capital, job stress, and professional identity. Data analysis was executed using the IBM SPSS version 22.0 software and its add-in PROCESS Windows version 4.0. RESULTS:The findings indicated a statistically significant mediating effect of psychological capital between job stress and professional identity. Job stress and job stress combined with psychological capital accounted for 5.3% and 37.9%, respectively, of the variance in professional identity. The bootstrapping method corroborated the significance of the indirect effect of job stress through psychological capital (95% bootstrap CI = –4.7921, –2.4345). CONCLUSION:The current findings underscore the need for increased attention on improving the psychological capital of medical interns.
Keywords: Mediation analysis, medical students, professional role, psychological resilience, occupational stress
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-230022
Journal: Work, vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 1597-1604, 2023
