Exam-Related Anxiety Levels among Iraqi Medical Students in Baghdad City

Abstract

Background: Exam-related anxiety is a set of responses that include excessive worry, depression, nervousness, and irrelevant thinking from an individual's experience of assessment or testing and its outcome. Aim: This study was designed to evaluate exam-related anxiety among medical students in Baghdad City. Methods: This study utilized a cross-sectional survey design and was conducted by administering an online questionnaire to medical students (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy). Results: A total of 530 students participated in the survey; 20.8% of them came from medical colleges, 41.7% from dentistry schools, and 37.5% from pharmacy schools. Around 27.1% of the respondents reported positive test-related anxiety. Conclusion: Exam-related anxiety is frequent among Iraqi medical students in Baghdad and highlights the need for education programs to reduce this anxiety.