Burnout among students of medical universities in Poland

Abstract

Introduction. Burnout among medical students have been thoroughly studied in a number of countries worldwide. Little is known about medical students burnout in the Central European countries. Material and methods. The study is based on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, adapted for measurement of burnout among medical students. The questionnaire contained 6 numerical scale questions about respondents’ satisfaction with studies, university and educational achievements. Students of Polish medical universities were recruited via closed Facebook groups of their faculties. As a result, 778 questionnaires were gathered and analysed. A cluster analysis was performed with the special cluster analysis tool of the Statistica 12 - six questions with numerical scale were used as cluster analysis variables. Results. Almost 19% of the subjects reported a high or very high total burnout rate - it was almost 40% for both personal and work-related burnout, but less than 5% for patient-related burnout. The cluster analysis revealed three distinctive groups - dissatisfied, middling and satisfied with their studies and university. For both the total and partial scores, the highest burnout was observed among the dissatisfied, the lowest among the satisfied, while the middling group had the average score. Discussion. A significant level of burnout among Polish medical students, reported in the current study, is consistent with results of numerous investigations performed worldwide. As only 5% of the respondents scored high in patient-related burnout, a question emerges as to whether burnout is more related to clinical subjects or to high learning load. Conclusions. The current study reveals a significant level of burnout among Polish medical students. Both improved education quality and interesting and innovative teaching methods may possibly prevent high burnout among medical students.