Burnout syndrome in dental students during the return to face-to-face

Abstract

Introduction: Student Burnout arises from the assumption that university students are stressed and overwhelmed academically. This situation can be exacerbated by the presence of a study plan with more complex content that requires more study time, and patient care, which combined with the return to post-pandemic face-to-face training creates a favorable scenario for the development of this syndrome. Goals. To describe the prevalence of Burnout syndrome in dental students from a Chilean university during the return to face-to-face. Methods: Cross-sectional study in dental students who, with prior informed consent, answered the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-HSS) via Google Forms. The instrument has 22 items in the form of statements about feelings and attitudes of students in their academic work. The presence of Burnout and its dimensions "emotional exhaustion", "depersonalization" and "personal fulfillment" by gender and academic level were recorded. To establish differences, the Chi2 statistical test was used in STATA 14.0 software. Study approved by the University's Scientific Ethics Committee. Results: 121 students participated, 71.9% women and 67.7% of the clinical level. 32.2% present Burnout, higher in women (74.4%) and clinical level (69.2%). 74.4% classified at a high level for the "emotional exhaustion" subscale, higher in women (p= 0.026) and non-clinical academic level (p=0.527). In "depersonalization" the level predominates in men and in the clinical level, on the other hand for "personal fulfillment" the low level is present in both sexes and academic levels. Conclusion. About a third of the students showed Burnout and scored high on the "emotional exhaustion" subscale. Early detection of the syndrome can be an opportunity for early intervention and avoid academic difficulties when returning to face-to-face.