Burnout Among 1st-year Medical Students at an MD School in the USA

This study aims to examine changes in the prevalence and severity of burnout and depression in first-year medical students relative to major academic events such as breaks and exams. One hundred twenty-five US first-year medical students with a pass/fail preclinical curriculum were emailed four rounds of surveys consisting of questions from the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The surveys were sent before winter break, during block final exams, the subsequent block’s midpoint, and after the subsequent block’s midterm examinations. One hundred forty-seven responses were recorded throughout the four rounds, with an average response rate of 29.4% (n = 147/500). 98.64% of all participants reported experiencing symptoms of work-related burnout (ranging from low to severe burnout), and 64.63% of participants reported experiencing symptoms of depression (ranging from mild to severe depression). Client-related burnout and PHQ-9 scores are moderately correlated by Spearman’s correlation (r(145) = 0.645, p &lt; 0.001). Work-related burnout was also found to moderately correlate with client-related burnout (r(145) = 0.739, p &lt; 0.001) and PHQ-9 scores (r(147) = 0.786, p &lt; 0.001). Burnout and depression severity in first-year medical students remain statistically similar throughout portions of the academic year despite significant events such as exams or breaks. This may indicate that scheduling exams after breaks mitigates any protective effect breaks have on burnout/depression and that the preclinical curricular changes implemented by the institution following USMLE Step 1 board exam turning pass/fail have not had the intended positive effect on medical students’ mental health.<br>