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Background: Trends in New Zealand (NZ) medical students' health and the influence of a wellbeing curricula are unknown. Methods: The author's collected self-report data from NZ medical students on 'Graduation Day' from 2014 to 2018, using a serial cross-sectional survey design with validated scales assessing psychological health, stigma, coping, and lifestyle. Comparisons were made with NZ general population same-age peers. Analyses examined trends, differences between 'cohorts' of students receiving different exposures to a wellbeing curriculum, and correlations between students' own lifestyle practices and their frequency of talking with patients about those topics. Results: Of 1,062 students, 886 participated. The authors found statistically significant self-reported increases from 2014 to 2018 for negative psychological indices, including scores for distress and burnout, suicidal thoughts in the preceding year, and the likelihood of being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. There was a significant increase in numbers of students reporting having their own doctor as well as increased healthy coping strategies and a significant decrease in stigma scores. Academic cohorts of students who had completed a wellbeing curriculum were more likely to report high distress levels, having been diagnosed with a mood disorder, and being non-drinkers than students without wellbeing training. When compared to NZ peers, medical students smoked less, exercised more, and were less likely to have diagnosed mood and anxiety disorders, but reported more distress. The authors found a significant correlation between the amount of exercise students undertook and their likelihood to discuss exercise with patients. Conclusions: NZ medical students have better physical health than general population peers and are more likely to discuss exercise with patients if exercising themselves. However, cohorts of graduating students report increasing distress despite the implementation of a wellbeing curriculum. Research is needed into mechanisms between students' self-awareness, willingness to report distress, stigma, mind-set, coping, and psychological outcomes, to inform curriculum developers.

Aims: A series of podcasts and videos was created to assist medical students with learning about suicide prevention. The aim of this research was to explore medical students experiences of using a suicide prevention learning resource. Methods: A multimedia repository of learning resources for suicide prevention was designed and created for use across all years of the medical programme at The University of Auckland. Emphasis was placed on ensuring that the resource was culturally safe. The impact of the learning resource was evaluated with a qualitative approach using focus group methodology. Two focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and a thematic analysis was conducted employing three cycles of coding. Results: Three themes were identified: perceiving that suicide is complex and sensitive; tailoring knowledge to match students' developmental stage and context; and elements that facilitated interaction with the resource. Conclusions: Suicide is unsurprisingly a challenging topic for medical students. The students in this study actively engaged with this resource on suicide prevention, which supplemented their core learning of the topic. Early access to resources developed in a culturally safe way within a spiral curriculum empowers students to understand that they have an important contribution to make in preventing suicide. This may prepare them for encountering suicide with peers, family members and in clinical practice.