Burnout in medical students of a tertiary care Indian medical center: How much protection does resilience confer?

CONTEXT: Medical profession continues to grapple with burnout; even medical students are not spared of this self-destructive psychological experience. Attempts are being made to control and contain burnout in medical students by the medical fraternity. AIMS: We intend to study the prevalence and determinants of burnout in medical students in a tertiary medical center and also to study the relationship of resilience with the experience of burnout. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional anonymous survey method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Randomized stratified sampling method was used wherein roll numbers of MBBS students belonging to four different semesters were chosen using randomization software. Based on prevailing prevalence of burnout, sample size calculation was done, and 196 completed questionnaires were included in analysis. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) were used. Two-dimensional approach toward diagnosing burnout was used. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Association tests were carried out to analyze the association between means, and Spearman's rho was used to assess the correlation of MBI subscales with RSA subscales. We also used binary logistic regression to assess the relationship of burnout with resilience. RESULTS: The prevalence of burnout was 16.84%, and high scores on depersonalization (DP) subscale were seen in males. Personal accomplishment (PA) scores were lower in the fifth and seventh semesters. A statistically significant correlation was observed between MBI and RSA subscales. Binary regression analysis revealed higher resilience scores were significantly associated with decreased likelihood of burnout in emotional exhaustion (odds ratio [OR] = 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.93-0.97), DP (OR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.93–0.98), and PA (OR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.84–0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Burnout prevalence in our sample lies at the lower range of global prevalence rates. Resilience is protective from burnout.