Experiential avoidance, engaged living, and burnout in medical students, residents and fellows

Burnout, experiential avoidance, and disengagement from values-based living may negatively impact medical trainee well-being. This study examined the levels of experiential avoidance, burnout, and engaged living, as well as the associations among these constructs in a single institutional cohort of medical students, residents, and fellows.

Experiential avoidance was assessed using the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire, burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel and engaged living using the Engaged Living Scale. Spearman correlations examined associations among burnout subscales, experiential avoidance, and engaged living. Multiple linear regression models were conducted to identify predictors of burnout. Mediation analyses were performed to explore indirect pathways between experiential avoidance and engaged living through burnout.

Of 103 participants, 67% were aged 20-30 years, 57.3% were female, and 57.3% were medical students, 33% residents, and 9.7% fellows. Experiential avoidance was positively correlated, and engaged living was negatively correlated with the burnout subscales of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. The burnout subscale of personal accomplishment was negatively correlated with experiential avoidance but was positively correlated with engaged living. Experiential avoidance was negatively correlated with engaged living. Regression analyses revealed that fellows reported significantly higher personal accomplishment (p = 0.033), whereas higher depersonalization was observed among residents (p = 0.017) and male trainees (p = 0.013). Although burnout appeared to mediate the association between experiential avoidance and engaged living, sensitivity analyses suggested that these mediation findings should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating.

These findings suggest that wellness initiatives in medical education may benefit from reducing experiential avoidance, enhancing engaged living, and mitigating burnout. Future research should aim to replicate these findings across diverse institutional settings.