Relationship of Burnout and Extra-Curricular Activities among Dental Students: An Original Research

INTRODUCTION: “Burnout syndrome (BS)” is a work-associated condition which is frequently observed in medical professionals, especially students. Extra-curricular activities (ECAs) are one of the coping techniques that students employ to deal with stress and exhaustion. GOAL: The study’s goal is to evaluate dental students’ levels of burnout and how it correlates with their participation in ECAs. MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES: In South India, a dentistry school conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire research with its students. Both the regular and supplemental batches of students from the first year through the fifth year (internship) were included. The “Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey”, which has 15 items in three areas—”Emotional Fatigue (EE), Cynicism (CY), & Professional Efficacy (PE)”—was used to assess burnout. A 5-point Likert scale was used to grade each response. Poisson log linear model and the Mann–Whitney U test were employed. The threshold for statistical significance was 5 out of 100. RESULTS: Four hundred participants were finalized after the criteria. Over 80% of the participants were women students as in accordance with the routine proportion of the dental students. The participants’ average age was 22.1 ± 12 years. Burnout was seen in nearly 20% of subjects. Significant variation was seen for all the three domains of the burnout when they were compared against the ECA (P = 0.019(EE), 0.003(CY), and 0.005(PE)). CONCLUSION: It is safe to say that among the participants, burnout is a common occurrence. There is a need for early detection of burnout in dental students and prompt, efficient management.