Burnout syndrome among third year medical students in Caen: Prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

Burnout syndrome is a reality in health professions. Many studies report a growing and alarming exhaustion among doctors and residents in France. However, medical studies deemed to be stressful, medical students could be also affected by this syndrome. Few studies are conducted in France at this stage of training, so we will focus our study on the sensitivity to burnout syndrome of students in pre-clerkship. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 312 students in their third year of medical school in Caen, France. These students answered a questionnaire about their lifestyle and their course, and two pre-established questionnaires, the MBI-test with the emotional exhaustion subscale (EE score) tracking burnout and the GHQ-28 evaluating psychiatric morbidity not psychotic. More than 4 in 10 (42.6%) students had a high EE score and a positive GHQ-28 score. More than one student in two (59.8%) had a moderate to high emotional exhaustion score. Likewise for the GHQ-28 score, 53.4% of students had a positive score. In addition, nearly one in three students (29.8%) felt threatened by burnout. Finally, various factors appeared to be related to burnout: female gender, wanting to stop studying, lack of support or changes in appetite. Burnout is a reality and many factors are associated with it. The study has allowed us to study its factors more closely to get a better understanding but many parameters remain uncertain and deserve more investigation. However, we must continue to act and implement care and support for students at risk. In the same way, it is necessary to sensitize and train students for a primary prevention against burnout from the first cycle of medical studies.