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

@article{pointon2026activate,
  title = {{ACTIVATE: A protocol for a randomised controlled evaluation of Thumos: A cognitive-behavioural intervention for medical students}},
  author = {Lucy Pointon and William Lea and Christopher D. J. Taylor and Luke Budworth and Dialechti Tsimpida and Rebecca Coleman and Nathan Shearman and Reema Harrison and Vijay Jayagopal and Gursharan Johal and Katharina Sophie Vogt and Raoul Ovalekar and Rajjan Singh and Nathan Randles and Jamie Read and Faye Gishen and John Hines and Justin Ward and Sam Thenabadu and Toby Helliwell and Joanne Ogundiran and Judith Johnson},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0355371},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355371},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - ACTIVATE: A protocol for a randomised controlled evaluation of Thumos: A cognitive-behavioural intervention for medical students
AU  - Lucy Pointon
AU  - William Lea
AU  - Christopher D. J. Taylor
AU  - Luke Budworth
AU  - Dialechti Tsimpida
AU  - Rebecca Coleman
AU  - Nathan Shearman
AU  - Reema Harrison
AU  - Vijay Jayagopal
AU  - Gursharan Johal
AU  - Katharina Sophie Vogt
AU  - Raoul Ovalekar
AU  - Rajjan Singh
AU  - Nathan Randles
AU  - Jamie Read
AU  - Faye Gishen
AU  - John Hines
AU  - Justin Ward
AU  - Sam Thenabadu
AU  - Toby Helliwell
AU  - Joanne Ogundiran
AU  - Judith Johnson
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/25
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0355371
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355371
AB  - Background: 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). Methods/design: 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. Discussion: 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. Trial identifier and registry name: ISRCTN12744098: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12744098; An evaluation of a cognitive-behavioural intervention for medical students
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -