Burnout symptoms, burnout rate, well-being, and academia-related stress factors in medical students

BACKGROUND: Burnout among medical students is a well-known problem, but only few data from Austria are available. This study's goal was to examine the prevalence of burnout symptoms in two private universities in Austria and to identify the stressors contributing to it. METHODS: Medical students in their second year or at later stages of their studies were asked to complete an online questionnaire. Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS), the three subscales emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced academic efficacy were measured. The six potentially burnout-related stressors identified were workload, exam pressure, financial stress, work-life balance, time management, and lack of support for mental health. Additionally, psychological well-being measured via the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and subjective stress assessed via the visual analog scale (VAS) were examined. RESULTS: A total of 168 students were included in the final analysis (average age 23.9 years; 69.0% female). Overall, 33.9% of students met the cut-off criteria for burnout on all three subscales and 78% on at least two. Scores for emotional exhaustion (86.3%) and reduced academic efficacy (82.1%) were most frequently elevated. Work-life balance and a perceived lack of mental health support were most consistently linked to higher burnout subscale and lower WHO‑5 scores. CONCLUSION: Around one third of students met the cut-off criteria on all three MBI-SS subscales. Not one single stressor was observed to be causing burnout symptoms, but rather a lack of work-life balance and mental health support seem to play a major role.