• A review of the causes of test anxiety among medical students
  • samaneh chenari,1,* mohadese saffari,2
    1. Student Research Committee, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
    2. Faculty of paramedical school, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran


  • Introduction: In the present age, which is the age of academic and scientific competitions, the anxiety of exams is increasing day by day, which distracts the attention of the person and with busy thinking, information processing decreases and it can affect the academic performance and disrupt the success of the person in the exam; therefore, the causes of test anxiety among students should be investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of test anxiety among medical students.
  • Methods: This study was a review and information was extracted from Google Scholar, Pub med and Scopus databases by searching for the words “anxiety”, “exam”, “students”, “University of Medical Sciences”, and articles and researches on the causes of test anxiety among students of different disciplines of Medical sciences were reviewed.
  • Results: The majority of students had moderate or high levels of anxiety, of which the most anxiety was seen among female students. Causes of anxiety among medical students include high volume of courses, study style, lack of physical activities, duration of exams, fear of not getting enough grades, exam system, lack of time management, difficult exam questions and strict procedures established by Professors and universities. Students' anxiety was also associated with their physical, emotional and cognitive health.
  • Conclusion: It seems that universities should develop curricula and exam patterns according to students' problems, and professors should be aware of the factors that cause exam anxiety. It is also recommended to implement programs to prevent this anxiety and provide psychological services and counseling to identify its causes and plan to eliminate the causes.
  • Keywords: Examination anxiety, students, medical sciences, medical students