Burnout in preclinical medical students: Exploring factors and solutions – Muscat's story

Objectives: The prevalence of burnout is progressively rising among medical students. The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and determinants of burnout among preclinical medical students in Muscat. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical research was conducted at one of Oman's top medical universities from October 2019 to April 2020. A cohort of 350 preclinical medical students in their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of study participated in this study. The assessment of burnout was based on self-reports from the participants, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey. Various variables were coded and analyzed. Results: A total of 350 students completed the survey (response rate: 83.3%). Burnout was reported by 125 (35.7%) students. Regarding specific domains of burnout, most students demonstrated higher rates of cynicism (n: 236; 67.4%) and emotional exhaustion (n: 221; 63.1%) and lower rates of academic efficacy (n: 197; 56.3%). Burnout was significantly more common among older students (p-value < 0.001), students living apart from their family (p-value: 0.042), students who did not participate in regular exercises (p-value < 0.001), those who spent fewer hours studying per day (p-value < 0.001), those who regretted their decision to study medicine (p-value: 0.023), those who were dissatisfied with examination results (p-value < 0.001), teaching strategies (p-value: 0.029), those with lower cumulative grade point averages (p-value < 0.001), and those with a history of academic probation (p-value < 0.001). Conclusions: Preclinical medical students displayed high rates of burnout. Continuous evaluation programs and educational initiatives are recommended to help such students to develop better burnout management and coping strategies.