Utilization and Effectiveness of a Peer Advocate Program for Medical Students

Considerable evidence exists that medical students experience mental and emotional distress, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, at higher rates than the general population [1–3]. In spite of increased awareness and programmatic interventions, there are known barriers to medical students’ access to resources, including: reticence to use support services out of fear of appearing unstable in a setting of pervasive stigma surrounding mental health, perceived lack of time to take advantage of resources, fear of an effect on their academic record, and fear of an unwanted intervention [1, 4, 5]. During orientation for all first-year students, the current PAs introduce themselves and the program in a session dedicated to support services available at the school, including mental health and counseling, the sexual harassment and assault center, the ombudsperson, educational help and tutoring, amongst others. First a focus group of the current PAs was conducted to determine the types of issues they encounter, their recommendations, the outcomes, and the frequency of requests.