Academic Burnout and Some Related Factors in Medical Students

Background and Aim: Academic burnout is the feeling of inadequacy and mental fatigue induced by chronic stress in students lacking the necessary resources to carry out their duties and tasks assigned to them. This study aimed to determine academic burnout and some related factors in medical students of Islamic Azad University of Mashhad in 2015-2016. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 181 medical students in degrees of basic sciences, traineeship, and internship were selected by convenience sampling. The data collection instrument was the Persian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey and a checklist of demographic variables. The collected data were analyzed using SPSSv. 18 software, descriptive and analytical tests, such as t-test and ANOVA. Results: The mean total score of academic burnout was 34.69 ± 14.69. It was concluded that 23.2% of the subjects had a high level of burnout and 51.4% a moderate level. No significant relationship was found between age, marital status, having the second job, and the educational level without any of the dimensions and the total score of the burnout questionnaire (P > 0.05). The mean of academic dissatisfaction was higher in men than in women (p = 0.01). With regard to the place of residence, the mean score of inefficiency in the student home was significantly higher than that of the dormitory (p = 0.04). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that a significant percentage of students suffer from academic burnout. In this study, female gender played a protective role in the dimension of academic dissatisfaction and living in a dormitory in the area of inefficiency.