[Burnout symptoms in Austrian student nurses in their third year of training]

Burnout is considered a major negative outcome of work related distress in social and health care services, especially in nursing. In the present study 179 student nurses in their third year of training and 47 registered nurses, all working in the Austrian province of Salzburg, were examined with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Compared on a regional and national level, burnout scores of student nurses were equal to those of registered nurses and workers in social and nursing professions. The specific stressors of education and training lead to strain comparable to years of professional experience and exposure to stressors. The relatively high level of satisfaction with life in student nurses may be due to specific resources and ways of compensation, that require further examination. Differences between urban and rural districts (with lower burnout scores and higher satisfaction with life sores in rural districts) were strong in student nurses. Compared with international nurse and health care samples, burnout is relatively low in the examined groups. Registered nurses and student nurses in rural districts show the lowest scores of all in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, respectively.