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Table 4 Categories and issues for the theme, “Factors that decrease quality of life in the medical program” from focus groups

From: What do medical students think about their quality of life? A qualitative study

CATEGORY

ISSUES

EXAMPLES

Human resources

Teachers

“Some people hate school because teachers are terrible, they are not teaching and do not know how to teach.”

Managers

“Managers do not care about our quality of life.”

Moral abuse

Residents and teachers

“There are arrogant teachers.”

Demandings

Personal, familiar, institutional, and social

“The least I can do is to push myself as much as I can do.”

“Pressure in the medical program is big.”

Eating habits

Inadequate eating habits

“I learned from a resident to put lots of sugar in my coffee to curb the hunger.”

Financial resources

Financial dependence

“You cannot work during the program; I feel bad for being dependent on my parents.”

Lack of care with own health

Students adopt unhealthy life

“You see many medical students getting sick, being down, neglecting one's own body, unable to reflect on these things.”

Sleep

Sleep privacy

“I want, I need to sleep. I cannot do more shifts and study.”

Time

Demands of the program

“I think excessive workload decreases quality of life. You have class every day and then you have to study but you also have many other things in your life.”

  

“In the program there’s a lack of quality of life. Lack of time to lose, to think about life, plans, dreams.”