ACTIVATE: A protocol for a randomised controlled evaluation of Thumos: A cognitive-behavioural intervention for medical students.

Authors

Lucy Pointon, William Lea, Christopher D J Taylor, Luke Budworth, Dialechti Tsimpida, Rebecca Coleman, Nathan Shearman, Reema Harrison, Vijay Jayagopal, Gursharan Johal, Katharina Sophie Vogt, Raoul Ovalekar, Rajjan Singh, Nathan Randles, Jamie Read, Faye Gishen, John Hines, Justin Ward, Sam Thenabadu, Toby Helliwell, Joanne Ogundiran, Judith Johnson

Published in

PloS one. Volume 21. Issue 9. Pages e0355371. Epub Sep 25, 2026.

Abstract

Medical students experience high rates of burnout and mental health distress, with approximately half reporting burnout, one-third experiencing depression, and one-tenth having suicidal thoughts. These issues are exacerbated during clinical placements and contribute to workforce attrition after qualification. Existing interventions are largely generic and show limited effectiveness. Thumos, a cognitive-behavioural therapy-based intervention specifically tailored for healthcare professionals and medical students, addresses the stressful situations intrinsic to medical training and practice. This randomised controlled trial will evaluate whether Thumos improves psychological resilience, confidence in dealing with stressful situations, burnout, and depression in medical students compared with services as usual (SAU).
Two hundred and twenty UK medical students in a year that contains a clinical placement of a week or longer will be recruited nationally from UK medical schools. Participants will be randomised 1:1 to receive either Thumos (two online group workshops and one individual video/phone call) or SAU. Assessments will occur at baseline, post-intervention, 4-month, and 9-month follow-up. The primary outcome is psychological resilience measured by the Brief Resilience Scale at 4-month follow-up. A mixed-methods process evaluation will assess acceptability and feasibility.
To our knowledge, this is the first randomised controlled trial of an intervention specifically designed to prepare medical students for stressful clinical events. If effective, Thumos could potentially be adapted for medical students in other countries.
ISRCTN12744098: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12744098; An evaluation of a cognitive-behavioural intervention for medical students.

PMID:
42789541
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 26 Sep 2026.

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