Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41316127›Full record

SynthesisBMC medical education2025

The effect of resilience training on resilience and stress in medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Edie L Sperling, Brook Manion, Emily Gresner, Ashley LaBarre, Peyton Krych, Zachary C Mallender

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Edie L SperlingCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA. esperling@westernu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6999-079X
Brook ManionCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-3047-3410
Emily GresnerCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-0864-6875
Ashley LaBarreCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-8158-1549
Peyton KrychCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-6716-2584
Zachary C MallenderCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-3617-6782

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMedical students are known to have high rates of stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Resilience training has been shown to be beneficial for stress among medical students. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the literature on resilience interventions in medical students and assessed the impact of those interventions on both stress and resilience outcomes.

methodsA comprehensive search was completed including multiple databases, bibliographic, and hand-searching. Twenty-one studies were included, 15 with resilience outcomes, nine with stress outcomes, and three with both. The standardized mean difference effect sizes were calculated using a random-effects model.

resultsResilience interventions had a small-to-moderate effect on resilience (d = 0.39, k = 17, n = 15, 95% PI [-0.10 - 0.87], p < 0.001), and a moderate effect on stress (d = 0.53, k = 10, n = 9, 95% PI [-0.96 - 2.02], p = 0.01). Sub-group analyses found that clinical students displayed higher resilience than preclinical students post-intervention. Significant heterogeneity was present in both models. Funnel plots, Egger's regression intercept, and Duval & Tweedie's trim and fill tests revealed at least mild publication bias. Risk of bias in the primary studies was high.

conclusionsThis meta-analysis suggests that resilience interventions are moderately effective at reducing stress and mildly effective at increasing resilience among medical students. Resilience intervention may have more of an impact on stress than resilience, and clinical students may benefit more with regards to resilience, but not stress. Further research would be beneficial to examine specific factors that influence resilience most.

trial registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024501653.

Indexed as

Resilience, PsychologicalStress, PsychologicalStudents, MedicalHumansMedical educationMedical studentsResilienceStress

Identifiers

PMID41316127
PMCPMC12771728

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.