Burnout and Online Medical Education: Romanian Students in Lockdown and Their Residency Choices

Abstract

The primary aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of burnout in Romanian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Students (MBI-GS(S)). The presence of burnout was assessed based on Exhaustion (EX), Cynicism (CY) and Professional Efficacy (PE) subscales. The secondary aim of the study was to identify the presence of intentional shift in medical specialty compared to their initial pursued choice within the population investigated. Data was collected online at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 through a licensed, customized MBI-GS(S) questionnaire from a sample of 126 Romanian medical students at the two leading medical schools in the country, Iasi (N = 56) and Cluj Napoca (N = 70). Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were also applied to describe the data set (age and gender of participants) and the relationship between variables (EX, CY, PE). Subsequently, the MBI-GS(S) group report revealed that 36.5% of the medical students in the sample (46) experienced burnout, with problematic results both in Exhaustion and Cynicism. Exhaustion and Cynicism, which contribute to burnout, showed high scores compared to the average scale (EX = 3.5/2.4; CY = 2.8/1.8), while the Professional Efficacy score was relatively high (PE = 3.8/4.4), showing a protective effect and burnout reduction. One of the main conclusions is that the consequences of burnout in medical students plays a significant role in shaping the future healthcare practitioners’ perception of the medical profession and of patients’ wellbeing. Exhaustion and Cynicism are mainly associated with depersonalization and disconnection from the patient. Another conclusion of the study is that about one third of the respondents (30% Cluj students and 37.5% Iasi students) considered changing residency options. The pandemic has also revealed the limitations of and challenges facing current medical education, and that further research is required to assess the trends in prevalence of burnout in medical students.

Study-related wellbeing, behavior, and attitudes of university students in the Netherlands during emergency remote teaching in the context of COVID-19: A longitudinal study

“…Throughout the academic year 2020–2021 in which ERT was the main form of education, Dutch university students reported moderate levels of study-related wellbeing (i.e., academic burnout and study engagement), study effort, and education satisfaction. These findings are comparable to those of previous studies conducted during the pandemic ( Aristovnik et al, 2020 ; Moreno-Fernandez et al, 2020 ; Aldhahi et al, 2021 ; Hamdan et al, 2021 ; Heidari et al, 2021 ; Lin, 2021 ; Silistraru et al, 2021 ; Simsek et al, 2021 ; Sveinsdóttir et al, 2021 ; Teuber et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Lee K. et al, 2021 ; Azzi et al, 2022 ; Ertek et al, 2022 ; Kwan, 2022 ; Silistraru et al, 2022 ). Compared to studies conducted in the pre-pandemic period using the same measures to assess student-related wellbeing ( Faye-Dumanget et al, 2017 ; Gusy et al, 2019 ; Lesener et al, 2020 ), students in our sample had considerably higher scores of academic burnout and considerably lower scores of study engagement.…”

“…During the implementation of ERT throughout the pandemic, students reported moderate levels of academic burnout and study engagement, medium to low levels of education satisfaction, moderate to high levels of online self-efficacy, and neutral to negative attitudes toward online education ( Aristovnik et al, 2020 ; Moreno-Fernandez et al, 2020 ; Aldhahi et al, 2021 ; Barzani and Jamil, 2021 ; Guven Ozdemir and Sonmez, 2021 ; Hamdan et al, 2021 ; Heidari et al, 2021 ; Lin, 2021 ; Silistraru et al, 2021 ; Simsek et al, 2021 ; Sveinsdóttir et al, 2021 ; Talsma et al, 2021 ; Teuber et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Lee K. et al, 2021 ; Ertek et al, 2022 ; Geçer and Bağci, 2022 ; Kwan, 2022 ; Silistraru et al, 2022 ). However, it is still unclear to what extent students’ study-related experiences changed over the course of the pandemic dependent on the strictness of the measures and consequently dependent on the degree of limitations in traditional on-campus teaching and learning.…”

Well-being variations on students of health sciences related to their learning opportunities, resources, and daily activities in an online and on-crisis context: a survey-based study

“…Specifically, women showed higher well-being impairment than men. Even in some previous studies in COVID-19 times, gender has not correlated to some forms of well-being such as burnout [ 48 ]; in other research, women have shown a higher risk of a general anxiety disorder [ 49 ]. It could be associated with gender-biased expectations about women’s performance in Health sciences and degrading treatment that comes with what is not new but remained during the pandemic crisis [ 50 ].…”

Coping methods among Polish students during Covid-19 pandemic

“…Podobne wyniki odnotowano również w populacji studentów. Zaobserwowany w badaniach stres nie tylko stanowił źródło zmęczenia i poczucia wypalenia [13], ale także prowadził do gorszych wyników w nauce, co znacząco zmniejszało satysfakcję studentów z aktywności akademickiej [14]. Co więcej, napięcie związane z koniecznością uczestniczenia w zajęciach w formie online, które zyskało już własne określenie technostresu, nie tylko przekładało się na większe poczucie wypalenia i mniejsze zaangażowanie, ale też korelowało z wyższym poziomem kortyzolu [15].…”