Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Medical training imposes substantial academic and emotional demands on students, frequently resulting in adverse mental health outcomes. Despite this, support in many medical schools is typically provided only after students encounter significant difficulties, rather than as a preventive measure. Previous research indicates that a considerable proportion of medical students experience depression, suicidal ideation, and burnout during their training, yet only a minority seek psychiatric or psychological care. Barriers to seeking help are often linked to stigma, worries about confidentiality, and fear that using support services could affect students’ academic progress or future careers. This study aims to develop and test a multicomponent early-intervention framework to support medical students’ well-being and encourage them to seek help earlier when needed. This paper reports the first phase of a planned longitudinal project. At this stage, a cross-sectional baseline design was used with students from the Faculty of Medicine at Cyprus International University. Students’ psychological and educational experiences were assessed using validated tools, including the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, GAD-7, and selected constructs from SEEQ, DREEM, and WLEIS. The findings from 96 participants showed that students reported a moderate learning experience (M = 3.36), alongside elevated academic stress (M = 3.43), high burnout (M = 3.43), and low overall well-being (M = 2.84). Students with higher academic stress tended to report lower well-being (r = -0.52). In contrast, emotional intelligence was positively related to well-being (r = 0.30), suggesting that students with stronger emotional awareness and coping skills may manage the demands of medical training more effectively. Students’ written responses added further meaning to these results, highlighting the need for lighter workloads, more interactive teaching, and anonymous peer-support options. Overall, these baseline findings underscore the need for a more proactive, central approach to mental health support in medical education. Support should be available before students reach a crisis point, so that barriers to care can be reduced and students can access help earlier. The proposed model may offer a practical starting point for developing future support systems in medical schools.</p>