Burnout syndrome in nursing students: An observational study

Abstract

BackgroundAcademic burnout appears attributable to work and academic overload and may negatively affect learning and care quality during clinical clerkship. ObjectivesTo evaluate the presence of burnout syndrome in nursing students and to detect the main stressors that occur during clinical clerkship. DesignObservational, descriptive and cross-sectional study carried out between January and July 2017. Settings and participantsSecond-, third- and fourth-year nursing students at Jaume I University (Universitat Jaume I) (Spain) (n = 126). MethodsThe KEZKAK questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey were used when carrying out the data collection; sociodemographic and clinical clerkship variables were also collected. Descriptive and bivariate analyses of these instruments' variables were performed. ResultsNo student manifested high levels of depersonalisation or low personal accomplishment. Moreover, depersonalisation was found to increase as the academic year progressed (p = 0.027). The most stressful factors were Helplessness and Uncertainty (m = 3.61, sd = 0.345) and Confusion of Medication (m = 2.50, sd = 0.754). The female subsample showed higher stress levels due to multiple factors, such as Lack of Competence (p = 0.001) and Having to Give Bad News (p = 0.01). ConclusionThis study found that its sample did not meet the criteria indicating the presence of burnout syndrome. In addition, the main stressors affecting nursing students during clinical clerkship were identified.