Evolution and Treatment of Academic Burnout in Nursing Students: A Systematic Review

Under the covert norm: a qualitative study on the role of residency culture in burnout

PURPOSE

Burnout has become a major concern within healthcare. Medical residents comprise a notorious at-risk population in which approximately half of the population is affected. While previous work highlights the role of organizational risk factors as the main contributors to occupational burden, research on culture in medicine as a potential organizational risk factor is limited. The main objective of this qualitative study was to explore the expression of cultural norms from the medical resident perspective to establish the stage for future high-impact interventions.

METHODS

Data were gathered from 87 semistructured interviews with residents in Mexico City and analyzed through a grounded theory lens.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed harmful customary practices within medical residency culture. A distorted hierarchical system was responsible for promoting abusive power dynamics that fed into a 'covert norm' that continually infringed on formal regulations. This system is partly sustainable due to poor reporting mechanisms and self-perpetuating behaviors through normalization and violent enforcement.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that burnout was independently associated with and occurred in the context of covert conventions that defy guidelines. However, further studies are needed to assess proper organizational interventions that reject covert sociocultural normative conformity to support a more humanistic side of medical culture.

Physician and Medical Student Burnout, a Narrative Literature Review: Challenges, Strategies, and a Call to Action

Background: Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion produced by excessive and prolonged professional stress. Its prevalence is unclear, and figures from 2 to 81% have been reported, although studies focused on this issue are scarce and inconsistent definitions and the absence of validated measurement tools make comparisons difficult. Methods: Our narrative review's purpose was to explore physician and medical student burnout across medical specialties and in specific subgroups, including young doctors, researchers, and female physicians. We also assess burnout effects in medical students and patients and the possible strategies to prevent and reverse it. Results: Burnout affects doctors, medical students, and patients. It impacts significantly on physicians mental health and can be the trigger for depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts. Moreover, this psychological and physical exhaustion can also increase the risk of systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease. Physician burnout increases the risk of medical errors, reduces professional efficacy, and might compromise patients' safety. Strategies focusing on mental, physical, social, and occupational well-being can help to prevent and treat burnout. These include resilience training, self-care, exercise, work-life balance, and institutional changes, such as reducing administrative burdens and improving electronic health record systems. Medical students' burnout might be triggered by specific problems related to their young age, economic situation, exam stress and workload, high academic expectations, lack of support, and others. Conclusions: Burnout is common in physicians and medical students, negatively affecting mental health, professional/academic efficacy, and patient outcomes. Addressing burnout requires a multifaceted approach, including individual strategies and systemic changes within institutions.

Past the tipping point: Understanding and addressing burnout among nursing students

Burnout is a widespread concern in healthcare, with nurses bearing a disproportionate burden among healthcare professionals. This epidemic of occupational stress has also affected nursing students, who face the external demands inherent in the profession. In this call-to-action paper, we conducted an extensive literature review exploring strategies aimed at mitigating burnout among nursing students, and offer recommendations for academic institutions, healthcare leaders, research funders, and political leaders, including both the civil service and elected leaders to support the advancement and sustainability of the nursing profession and its workforce.

Analyzing Latent Burnout Profiles in a Sample of Spanish Nursing and Psychology Undergraduates

There is abundant literature suggesting that university students in helping professions experience high levels of stress, leading to an increased risk of developing burnout. The objective of this study was to identify burnout profiles in a sample of 1162 Spanish nursing and psychology undergraduates using latent profile analysis, a person-oriented statistical method that can identify hidden homogenous subgroups within a heterogeneous population. We expected to replicate in university students the five-profile structure (burnout, overextended, disengaged, ineffective, and engagement) proposed by Leiter and Maslach using the burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy) as indicators. The results showed that burnout, overextended, and engagement profiles were adequately replicated. Given that levels of inefficacy and cynicism were medium to low, the ineffective and disengaged profiles somewhat deviated from those identified by Leiter and Maslach. We found differences between the five latent profiles in several psychological variables, such as depression and anxiety. These results suggest that psychosocial factors (e.g., workload) are significant among students and may adversely impact their health, leading to psychosomatic and emotional disorders. Hence, designing effective interventions to prevent health problems associated with burnout seems advisable, considering the specific burnout profile that a student exhibits.

Prevalence and levels of burnout in nursing students: A systematic review with meta-analysis

AIM

The aim of this study was to analyze burnout levels and prevalence in nursing students and to estimate prevalence levels with meta-analyses.

BACKGROUND

Nurses are one of the healthcare professionals most affect by burnout, but nursing students, during their studies, can also suffer burnout.

DESIGN

a systematic review with meta-analysis was performed.

METHODS

The search equation used in Pubmed, CINAHL and Scopus databases was "burnout AND nursing students". Quantitative primary studies including information about burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, or personal accomplishment in nursing students were included. Four meta-analysis were performed.

RESULTS

the sample was of n = 34 studies, with n = 15 studies being included in the meta-analysis with n = 2744 nursing students. Burnout prevalence was 19% (95% CI 11-28%). Regarding burnout dimensions, the most affected was high emotional exhaustion with a prevalence of 41%(95% CI 23-61%; n = 2222) followed by 27% low personal accomplishment(95% CI 9-49%; n = 2096), 25% high depersonalization (95% CI 15-36%; n = 2096).

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence of burnout and its dimensions vary from 19% to 41%, being emotional exhaustion the main problem in nursing students. This problem may affect their future as nursing professionals, and it would be of important to prevent and to treat burnout at university levels.