Stress, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation to Learn: A Causal Model on Academic Burnout of Student Nurses

Attending nursing school is challenging. Students enrolled in a nursing program often complain of being academically burned out. As an educator, seeing, interacting with, and teaching learners suffering from burnout is tough. Nurse educators must be aware of this issue and act toward its resolution. Hence, this study aims to create a causal model on academic burnout, academic stress, self-efficacy, and learning motivation among student nurses. The inquiry was participated in by 719 nursing students from 4 private and state universities in the Philippines, utilizing modified standardized questionnaires and a 5-point Likert scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was also used to analyze the data. The best-fit model of the study revealed that students' academic burnout is positively influenced by stress from personal inadequacy, fear of failure, inadequate study facilities, poor teaching methods, and external motivation and negatively impacted by resilience. Recognizing the factors causing academic burnout among student nurses is a crucial step toward enhancing the quality of education and improving the learner's well-being. Furthermore, by understanding students' challenges at school, policymakers and administrators can develop and implement regulations that advocate for a healthier school life for the students. By addressing the concerns of lack of classrooms for studying and ineffective teaching strategies, students' academic burnout may lessen. Moreover, providing counseling to learners and discussing the mentally harmful outcomes of fear of failure, personal inadequacies, and being burdened by external motivations may reduce the effects of academic burnout. Educators may focus on enhancing the student nurses' resilience through better classroom management and adequate mental and emotional support to overcome the damaging effects of academic burnout. Lastly, student nurses may take full advantage of the universities' mental health services, wellness programs, and support systems to reduce feelings of stress and burnout.