Study Engagement and Burnout of the PhD Candidates in Medicine: A Person-Centered Approach.

Lotta Tikkanen,Juha Nieminen,Aleksandra Bujacz,Kirsi Pyhältö

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727746

Abstract

This study focused on exploring individual variations in doctoral candidates’ well-being, in terms of experienced research engagement and burnout by using a person-centered approach. In addition, the associations between well-being profiles and gender, country of origin, study status (full-time or part-time), research group status and drop-out intentions were explored. The participants were 692 PhD candidates in the field of medicine. Latent profile analysis was employed to identify the well-being profiles. Four distinct profiles were identified: high engagement–low burnout, high engagement–moderate burnout, moderate engagement–moderate burnout, and moderate engagement–high burnout. Working in a clinical unit or hospital and working in a research group seemed to be related to increased engagement and reduced risk for suffering burnout, while the intentions to quit one’s doctoral studies were more frequently reported in profiles with moderate levels of engagement. The findings imply that although a significant number of PhD candidates in medicine had an increased risk for developing burnout, for most of the PhD candidates research education is an engaging experience.

Highlights

Undertaking a doctoral degree provides both highs and lows, potentially significantly reducing or increasing PhD candidates’ well-being (e.g., Stubb et al, 2011; Divaris et al, 2012; Caesens et al, 2014; Hunter and Devine, 2016; Swords and Ellis, 2017)
We aimed to explore the individual variation in well-being among PhD candidates in medicine by employing a person-centered approach
We focused on identifying burnoutengagement profiles employed by PhD candidates in the medical fields, and how they are related to working in a clinical unit or hospital, study status, research group status, and drop-out intentions

Summary

Introduction

Undertaking a doctoral degree provides both highs and lows, potentially significantly reducing or increasing PhD candidates’ well-being (e.g., Stubb et al, 2011; Divaris et al, 2012; Caesens et al, 2014; Hunter and Devine, 2016; Swords and Ellis, 2017). There are at least two distinct subgroups of PhD students in these contexts (Naylor et al, 2016): those who work clinically and those working in the basic sciences These two groups of PhD candidates often work under very different conditions, within the same medical university setting (Naylor et al, 2016). More context-specific studies into PhD candidates in medical research education and the differing subgroups of PhD candidates in medicine have been called for (Naylor et al, 2016; Kusurkar et al, 2021)

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Discussion

Conclusion