Medical Student Burnout: Underlying Causes and Solutions

<ns5:p>Background The medical profession is one of the leading fields in worker and student burnout, suicide, and depression. Medical student burnout, as a subset, has been understudied; therefore, the goal of this project is to study medical student burnout and propose solutions. Methods A survey comprising 15 questions that inquired about current burnout, views on a decompressed curriculum, and burnout mitigation strategies was sent to 58 students at the institution where this study was conducted. Interviews were conducted with 15 participants to further elaborate on burnout. Results This study found that ~48.0% of respondents reported they were experiencing burnout. Second-year medical students exhibited the highest level of burnout. Only 37.3% of the students claimed that STEP 1 going pass/fail helped alleviate the impending stress of residency applications, while 81.0% of the students found that the decompressed curriculum helped attenuate burnout. Conclusion STEP 1 grading was amended to Pass/Fail for wellness per AAMC. At our institution, STEP 1 is taken at the end of the second year, yet second-year students are the most burnt out. The interviews showed a lack of understanding of the definition and path to success within or past medical school in students as a primary factor. Furthermore, the difficulty of persisting in an academically rigorous environment while also being an active participant in one’s life was found to be taxing. At this institution, the decompressed curriculum was 81.0% favored by of students, indicating that time off in the medical curriculum mitigated burnout.</ns5:p>