Motivation to Impact: Medical Student Volunteerism in the COVID 19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective Volunteerism represents an important mechanism to promote resilience, empathy, and general well-being in medical students, a group that stands to benefit. Medical students report feelings of fatigue, burnout, exhaustion, and stress that correlates with poor academic performance, and significant decline in empathy over the 3 rd year of both MD and DO programs. Volunteer motivations have been shown to mediate participant well-being. The relationship between medical student volunteer motivations and specific outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been addressed. Methods We characterized features of medical student volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, including volunteering motivation using the Volunteer Functions Inventory, the types of activities in which they participated, and the physical, psychosocial, and emotional outcomes they experienced following volunteering. Results Altruistic and humanitarian values–centric motivation predicts positive volunteering outcomes including increased resilience, ability to deal with disappointment and loss, and ability to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Values-centric motivation also increases volunteer empathy independent of educational stage. Values-centric participants were more likely to select volunteering activities with patient contact, which promotes student empathy and resilience. Conversely, career-centric motivation does not predict positive outcomes. These students are more likely to engage in research-oriented activities. Conclusions The efficacy of integrating volunteerism into medical school curricula may be limited by professional pressure that manifests as career-oriented motivation. We propose that practical integration should promote altruistic and humanitarian values–centric participant orientation to the volunteering process, which is associated with enhanced recruitment, preservation of empathy, and additional positive volunteering outcomes of interest.

Study protocol: A national cross-sectional study on psychology and behavior investigation of Chinese residents in 2023, PBICR

“…Furthermore, the allocation of unpaid domestic responsibilities between genders within the household also subtly influences the mental health of both partners involved. A study conducted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that the engagement of medical patients in social volunteering has the potential to foster a more favorable psychological state(Phillips et al, 2022). In a similar vein, consistent involvement in social volunteering has been found to have a favorable influence on cognitive abilities.…”

Graduating Medical Students’ Perceptions of the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Their Medical School Experiences and Preparation for Careers as Physicians: A National Study

“…[9][10][11] Resultant volunteer activities, created by schools and student groups alike, provided students with learning opportunities through engagement with their local communities. 12 With the onset of the pandemic, undergraduate medical education experiences for the class of 2020 were affected in only the final months of their fourth year. The graduating class of 2021, however, experienced substantial pandemic-related changes in the final months of their third year and for their entire fourth year.…”

“…Concurrently, with intensifying sociopolitical conflict in the United States (e.g., renewed focus on structural racism and political upheaval), 3 there was increased attention on health equity, social determinants of health, and health systems 9–11 . Resultant volunteer activities, created by schools and student groups alike, provided students with learning opportunities through engagement with their local communities 12 …”

Global Rate of Willingness to Volunteer Among Medical and Health Students During Pandemic: Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Additionally, 1 study was excluded because the participants were not pursuing undergraduate degrees [39]. Ten studies were deemed irrelevant to the objective of this review [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. Finally, 21 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis .…”