Prevalence and Predictors of the Burnout Syndrome in Medical Students of Karachi, Pakistan

Burnout syndrome and its correlation with musculoskeletal disorders among physiotherapists in Saudi: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There is a significant impact of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) on individuals of all ages, professions, and fields from various countries worldwide, leading to a negative impact on quality of life and overall health outcomes. The study was conducted to investigate the association between Burnout syndrome (BS) and MSDs among physiotherapists in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out. Physiotherapists of either gender and with no known co-morbidities and who were not suffering from recent injuries and accidents were included in the study. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was used to determine the level of burnout. Musculoskeletal disorders were analyzed using the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire (NMQ). The chi-square test was used to observe the association between two categorical variables and a p-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 133 participants were recruited and it was observed that 70 (53%) participants had low burnout levels (BoL). It was revealed that 65 (49%) had trouble in the neck and visited a physician clinic, 47 (35%) had trouble in the lower back during the last 12 months, 60 (45%) had trouble in the upper back during the last 12 months that prevented the normal activity and 13 (9.8%) participants had trouble in the shoulders during the last 7 days. History of chronic disease, education, practice setting, and smoking status with Burnout level was statistically significant. Trouble in the upper back, elbow, wrist/hands, hips/thighs, ankle/feet, and neck were also found to be significant.

CONCLUSION

The outcomes revealed that a few demographic factors such as education, practice setting, smoking status, and chronic disease history were significantly associated with BS. Furthermore, it was observed that MSD had a significant impact on BoL.

The Prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome and Factors Associated in the Students of Dentistry in Integral Clinic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Burnout syndrome (BS) is composed of three interrelated dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal fulfillment), and it has been documented that it affects health professionals from an early age.

Aims

Determine the prevalence of BS and associated factors in the integral clinic of the Dentistry Pilot School. Material and Methods. Two instruments were applied: (1) Maslach Burnout Inventory, which measures the degree of professional burnout through 22 items that describe the professional's attitudes and feelings toward work, as well as symptoms associated with this phenomenon; (2) the second questionnaire determines the possible symptoms of BS and consists of 14 questions that describe tiredness, sleep problems, digestive problems, respiratory problems and headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ), neck pain, back pain, and upper and lower extremity pain. The instruments were answered anonymously by a total of 300 students who participated in the study.

Results

The emotional exhaustion of the participants was 48.3% at a higher level, the depersonalization was 46.7% at a higher level, and the low perception of personal fulfillment was 73%. In addition, it was shown that BS is significantly related to marital status (p < 0.001∗), with single people reporting being more exhausted, with the 6-month level (p = 0.011) and with the following symptoms: non-neck pain, head, TMJ, back, waist, upper and lower body pain.

Conclusion

It was found that the BS had a prevalence of high levels of exhaustion and depersonalization correlated with the marital status and level of preparation (academic degree) of the person, finding a prevalence of symptoms such as pain in the neck, head, TMJ, and back.

Preparing for the “black swan”: Reducing employee burnout in the hospitality sector through ethical leadership

Hospitality is at a crossroads. While the growth and developmental indicators in this sector show economic potential, the rising employee burnout rate is a serious challenge to hospitality management. Literature suggests that an ethical leader can reduce employee burnout significantly. Although hospitality employees face a higher risk of burnout than other service segments, shockingly, past leadership studies did not focus on how ethical leaders in a hospitality organization may reduce the risk of burnout. Therefore, we conducted this research to explore ethical leadership-burnout relationships in the hospitality sector with the mediating effects of subjective wellbeing and employee resilience. A questionnaire was provided to employees in different hotel organizations (n = 346). Structural equation modeling was employed for hypothesis testing. The statistical evidence supported the theoretical assumptions that ethical leadership negatively predicts employee burnout, and subjective wellbeing and resilience mediate this relationship. The outcomes of this study suggest different theoretical and social implications. For example, the findings indicate the effectiveness of ethical leadership in reducing employee burnout in the hospitality sector. Several other implications have been discussed in detail.

Does team-based learning affect test scores of the basic medical sciences students in a modular curriculum?

Objectives

The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of team-based learning (TBL) sessions as a learning tool and to assess the satisfaction level of medical students towards TBL in modular curriculum.

Methods

Using the quasi-experimental study design, TBL sessions were conducted, involving students of 1^st and 2^nd year of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. The TBL infrastructure comprised of pre-class preparation, in-class individual readiness assurance pre-test and post-test, before and after group discussion, respectively. The responses of the students regarding TBL satisfaction were recorded through a structured questionnaire (5-point Likert-type scale) while Wilcoxon signed rank test was applied to measure the effectiveness of TBL sessions.

Results

Out of 192 students, 85% agreed or strongly agreed that TBL helped them think critically, identify their knowledge gaps, boosted their confidence, and motivated them in group participation. Significantly better post-test scores were found in all modules where TBL was used as a teaching tool (Z range = -5.33 to -11.81, P < 0.00).

Conclusion

TBL increases the post-test score in majority of the students, indicating improved learning process. It not only keeps students engaged throughout the learning process but incites critical thinking, problem solving skills, and confidence. Further studies are required to see long-term benefit of TBL in students' learning.

The Protective Role of Resilience in Emotional Exhaustion Among Dental Students at Clinical Levels

Purpose

The epidemic of burnout among dental students has been repeatedly documented. This study aimed to assess burnout, specifically emotional exhaustion (EE), and examined the impact of protective and risk psychological factors for EE among clinical-level dental students in Saudi Arabia (SA).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted, using a convenience sample of undergraduate dental students who were recruited from five separate dental schools. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 500 students to obtain socio-demographic data and to assess the students’ psychological characteristics (Maslach Burnout Inventory EE subscale, Dental Environment Stress Scale [DES] and Brief Resilience Scale [BRS]). Descriptive, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results

Of 272 respondents, 53% reported high EE. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression modelling demonstrated that students who reported higher BRS scores were significantly less likely to report high EE (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=0.79, 95% CI=0.70–0.89, p<0.001). However, females were more than twice as likely as males to report high EE (AOR=2.27, 95% CI=1.14–4.61, p=0.024). In addition, students who reported higher DES scores also reported high EE (AOR=1.10, 95% CI=1.07–1.12, p<0.001).

Conclusion

The findings suggest that resilience is a protective factor against high EE, after adjusting for key characteristics. There is a need for a preventive programme that addresses EE, taking into consideration other unexplored underlying factors.

Burnout in medical students of a tertiary care Indian medical center: How much protection does resilience confer?

CONTEXT

Medical profession continues to grapple with burnout; even medical students are not spared of this self-destructive psychological experience. Attempts are being made to control and contain burnout in medical students by the medical fraternity.

AIMS

We intend to study the prevalence and determinants of burnout in medical students in a tertiary medical center and also to study the relationship of resilience with the experience of burnout.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional anonymous survey method.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Randomized stratified sampling method was used wherein roll numbers of MBBS students belonging to four different semesters were chosen using randomization software. Based on prevailing prevalence of burnout, sample size calculation was done, and 196 completed questionnaires were included in analysis. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) were used. Two-dimensional approach toward diagnosing burnout was used.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Association tests were carried out to analyze the association between means, and Spearman's rho was used to assess the correlation of MBI subscales with RSA subscales. We also used binary logistic regression to assess the relationship of burnout with resilience.

RESULTS

The prevalence of burnout was 16.84%, and high scores on depersonalization (DP) subscale were seen in males. Personal accomplishment (PA) scores were lower in the fifth and seventh semesters. A statistically significant correlation was observed between MBI and RSA subscales. Binary regression analysis revealed higher resilience scores were significantly associated with decreased likelihood of burnout in emotional exhaustion (odds ratio [OR] = 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.93-0.97), DP (OR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.93-0.98), and PA (OR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.84-0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

Burnout prevalence in our sample lies at the lower range of global prevalence rates. Resilience is protective from burnout.