IJCM_336A: Academic burnout and coping: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study among undergraduate students of a medical college in western Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Background: Academic burnout is a significant concern in undergraduate medical students due to the demanding nature of their coursework, clinical responsibilities, and the pressure to excel in their studies. Medical students, in particular, are believed to be more stressed and burnt out than their non-medical peers. Academic burnout can affect medical students academic performance and psychological well-being. Coping strategies are essential for students to manage stress and attempts are being made to control and mitigate the same. Objective: 1) To assess the prevalence of academic burnout among undergraduate medical students; 2) To find out coping mechanisms adopted by the students. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional anonymous survey, medical students were recruited from four professional MBBS groups. Based on prevailing prevalence of burnout (16.84%), sample size calculation was done, which came out to be 216; which was rounded off to 220. The 220 completed questionnaires were collected and included in analysis. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and Brief COPE questionnaire were used. Sociodemographic profile was assessed by semi-structured proforma. Results: High emotional exhaustion was present in nearly 35% of the students while low professional efficacy over 65% of them reported. However, majority of them practiced active coping. The data is still being analysed for final findings. Conclusion: As concluded, majority of the students reported high academic burnout and low professional efficacy. For coping, most of them adapted active coping while substance use was less commonly used.