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

Ioana Silistraru, Oana Olariu, Anamaria Ciubara, Ștefan Roșca, Ramona Oana Roșca, Silviu Stanciu, Alina Plesea Condratovici and Ioan-Adrian Ciureanu
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Ioana Silistraru: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550024 Sibiu, Romania
Oana Olariu: Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania
Anamaria Ciubara: Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania
Ștefan Roșca: Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania
Ramona Oana Roșca: Department of Chemistry, Physics and Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Environment, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania
Silviu Stanciu: SAIABA Department-BIOALIMENT Research Center, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania
Alina Plesea Condratovici: Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania
Ioan-Adrian Ciureanu: Medical Informatics and Biostatistics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-11

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; burnout; stress; medical students; medical education; educational burnout; Romania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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