Tafhim Ahmed Rifat1, Tamal Kanti Kairi2, Sanghamitra Dey3, Nabila Islam Khan4, Rahat Amin Chowdhury5, Abu Tareq MD Rashel6
1. Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Sylhet Womens Medical College, Sylhet,
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Parkview Medical College, Sylhet
3. Medical Officer, Upazila Health Office, Sadar, Moulvibazar.
4. Honorary Medical Officer, Department of Medicine, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, Sylhet.
5. Associate Professor and Head, Department of Neurology, Sylhet Womens Medical College, Sylhet.
6. Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Sylhet Womens Medical College, Sylhet.
Abstract
The medical education system is a high-pressure setting that can result in adverse consequences for students’ physical and mental well-being. Medical students are required to take responsibility, absorb vast amounts of information, participate in frequent examinations, and exert significant effort with constrained time and energy. This constant and intense demand can result in burnout. This cross-sectional study was conducted among students of two medical college hospitals in Bangladesh. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS) were used. The calculated sample size was 210, and participants were sampled through stratified random sampling. The prevalence of burnout among medical students was 32.9%. The MBI-SS subscale mean scores for emotional exhaustion, skepticism, and academic self-efficacy were 18.34± 6.89 ,9.22± 6.13, and 22.82± 8.51, respectively. Burnout was significantly associated with years of study (p = 0.040), the decision to study in medical college (p = 0.034) , competitiveness ( p = 0.008), fear of failure (p = 0.024) , failed professional examinations (p = 0.020), consideration of dropping out (p = 0.050), sleep duration (p < 0.001) exercise or sports involvement (p = 0.021) , supportive classmates (p = 0.043) time with friends and family (p < 0.001) higher parental expectations (p = 0.035) uncertainty about the future (p = 0.001), and having a doctor as a family member (p = 0.035) Interventions to prevent burnout among medical students should start early and be directed background factors that our results have demonstrated. Additionally, we should not lose focus on trying to ameliorate burnout among existing students through effective coping strategies. This can help create a safer and more appropriate medical culture.
Key Words: Burnout, Medical Students, Mental Health.