MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF HEALTHCARE STUDENTS

Abstract

Healthcare students face academic workload, clinical exposure, financial stress, sleep disturbance, examination pressure, and uncertainty regarding career progression. These factors affect mental health during professional education. Anxiety, depression, burnout, emotional exhaustion, and stress are reported across medical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and allied health programs. Mental health concerns influence academic performance, clinical reasoning, communication, empathy, and patient care. This chapter examines the mental health status of healthcare students with focus on determinants, institutional factors, clinical education, and support systems. The chapter also discusses barriers to help seeking, stigma, and the role of educational institutions in prevention and intervention. Evidence from healthcare education research indicates that mental health outcomes improve through curriculum reforms, peer support, mentoring systems, counseling access, workload regulation, and faculty engagement. Healthcare institutions require structured mental health frameworks integrated into educational systems rather than isolated awareness activities. The chapter highlights the need for institutional responsibility, early identification, and student support mechanisms within healthcare education.