Evaluating the Resilience Level among Medical and Health Science Lecturers in Higher Education

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The use of resilience in higher education involves recognizing and implementing adaptive mechanisms during periods of adversity or transition. The present study aims to conduct an evaluation of the resilience levels of lecturers and investigate the association between socio-demographic factors that are linked to resilience among medical and health science lecturers in Malaysia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional online questionnaire was conducted between October and November 2023. This study employed the validated Medical Professionals Resilience Scale (MeRS) for all lecturers in medical and health science fields at Malaysian institutions, which consists of 37 items designed to assess the resilience level of the lecturers. Socio-demographic data were also collected to identify resilience characteristics. The independent sample T-test, Pearson correlation, and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The study encompassed a collective of 127 lecturers. A mean score of 123.66 and a standard deviation of 16.7 show that the lecturers have a high level of resilience. Resilience was observed more in lecturers with a non-clinical background compared to fellow clinical background (p=0.018). The other socio-demographic factors, including gender, age, marital status, years of experience as an educator, and designation of administration role, were not shown to have a significant impact. CONCLUSION: This study has the potential to yield valuable insights and may improve the effectiveness of university management frameworks in supporting lecturers during difficult times; this could be accomplished by advocating for leisure and sports activities and instituting healthy habits.