Prevalence of Burnout in Physical Therapy Students in the Twin Cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Burnout, a condition of physical, emotional, and mental tiredness brought on by sustained involvement in challenging work settings, is widespread among medical students. International studies were conducted on burnout among healthcare students, particularly medical and nursing students, and the levels of burnout reported are concerning. The objective of this study is to find out the prevalence of burnout among physical therapy students. It was a cross-sectional survey conducted in the colleges/universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The data was collected by using a self-structured questionnaire for demographic data and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) scale which assesses burnout in the dimensions of Personal burnout, Work burnout, and student-related burnout, with a cut-off score of 50 for each dimension. A total of 299 DPT students enrolled in this study. The Mean age of participants in this study was 21.05±1.75. The prevalence of personal burnout was 46.2%, work-related burnout was 35.5% and student-related burnout was 39.1%. It was concluded that burnout is common among physical therapy students, with personal burnout being reported as the highest level of burnout.