Präsentismus bei Medizinstudierenden: Eine Querschnittstudie

Background: Presenteeism is defined as the behaviour of attending work while being sick, a behaviour that appears to be especially common amongst doctors. Medical socialisation is already apparent during medical school. However, whether medical students also show above-average presenteeism has not been specifically investigated. Objective: We aimed to provide a more detailed of presenteeism in medical school: Is presenteeism more common amongst medical students when compared to students of other subjects? Does the prevalence of presenteeism change over the course of medical studies? Is presenteeism associated with health-related outcomes and behaviour? Materials and methods: We collected data on the prevalence of presenteeism in students, as well as on their general physical and mental health and study-related behaviour and experiences, at three different time points at one German university. We compared the prevalence of presenteeism between medical students and students of other subjects and investigated factors associated with presenteeism in medical students using logistic regression analysis. Results: We found no differences in the prevalence of presenteeism between medical students and students of other subjects at the different survey time points. However, we did find that presenteeism was more prevalent amongst female students when compared to their male counterparts. A tendency to overcommit was consistently proven to be a predictor of presenteeism. Conclusions: Medical students do not seem to attend classes while sick more frequently than the average student. However, the share of female students, who, as a group, show presenteeism more often, continues to increase. The reasons for presenteeism might change over the course of study and should be pursued in future studies.