Assessing Burnout and Associated Risk Factors in Medical Students

Our study aims to build on existing literature by assessing factors that may be associated with an increased risk of burnout amongst medical students, particularly students of color.

Our cross-sectional survey included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and additional de novo questions. Surveys were administered electronically in June 2017 using a convenience sampling method.

A total of 162 survey results were recorded. Of those, 159 completed demographic information with 43% of respondents being non-White, 64% women, 50% reported not having a mentor in medicine, 30% having an immediate family member in medicine, and 71% being concerned about the financial burden associated with medical school. Black students were more likely to be the first in their family to attend college, not have a physician family member, and have financial concerns. The average CBI burnout scores (n = 138) indicated that overall students are not experiencing burnout. However, nearly 50% of students experience personal, 42% work, and 12% client related burnout based on their individual scores. Women were significantly more likely to experience work related burnout (p = 0. 028) and had significantly higher personal burnout scores (p = 0.017). Additionally, Black students have significantly higher personal burnout scores (p = 0.013) compared to all other reported races.

Although factors assessed during this study showed no significant effect, the data trends suggest that both women and Black students experienced higher rates of burnout. Further discussion regarding solutions to burnout is required in order to intervene early on in training for those at highest risk.