Burnout among medical students of a medical college in Kathmandu; A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Medical students are more prone to burnout than the general population and students of other faculties due to the demanding nature of medical education with limited time and resources. Burnout has a negative impact on the academics and personal life of the students which can continue into their professional life and ultimately hamper patient care. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of burnout among medical students of a medical college and find its association with age, gender, and year of study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students of a medical college in Kathmandu, Nepal from 14 January to 7 March, 2021. Stratified sampling followed by a simple random sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire using the English version of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory adapted for students (OLBI-S) and analyzed in STATA version 15. RESULTS: The prevalence of burnout was found out to be 65.9% (n = 229). And of the remaining, 12.7% were exhausted, 11.4% were disengaged and 10.0% were neither exhausted nor disengaged. Burnout had no significant association with age in years, gender, and year of study. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows an alarming prevalence of burnout in almost two-thirds of medical students. These results indicate the necessity of employing effective strategies by relevant authorities for the mental well-being of future physicians. Further multicenter prospective studies are required for a better understanding of the prevalence and associated factors of burnout.