Medical student burnout can cause emotional exhaustion and detachment from educational objectives. The objectives of this study were to evaluate burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Students (MBI-GS(S)) associated with online education and pandemic restrictions. Methods: The MBI-GS (S) was administered to final-year medical students at Romania's most prominent medical faculties from June to July 2021. Descriptive statistics and the internal consistency of the MBI-GS (S) were assessed. In addition, mean MBI-SG (S) subscale scores for burnout were calculated for cynicism (CY), emotional exhaustion (EE), and academic efficacy (AE). Results: 50 medical students completed the online survey, and 42% reported self-perceived burnout. The MBI-GS(S) subscale scores were higher for cynicism (CY) (52%) and low professional efficacy (PE) (60%), and almost half of the students (48%) reported emotional exhaustion (EE). Conclusions: Recent studies have found strong associations between burnout in medical students and disappointment in their studies, fear of inadequate professional training, not having necessary skills to enter medical practice, being less than satisfied with the educational system and social support, optimism, and motivation in pursuing a medical career. We suggest the continuation of burnout studies to overcome the limitations of a cross-sectional research design. In addition, measuring burnout in the medical student population could be extended to all study years and how adequate educational strategies and wellness initiatives could ameliorate burnout.

This study aimed to assess the extent of burnout in Romanian and Moldavian academic physicians and to determine the predictive value of emotional intelligence (EI), coping strategies, work motivation (WM), perceived organizational support (POS), and the socio-demographic characteristics of burnout. Two hundred physicians (40% men, 60% women, mean age = 43.02, SD = 9.91) participated in the study. They were administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory−General Survey, Brief COPE Scale, Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale, Schutte’s Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test, and Perceived Organizational Support Scale. Mann−Whitney U tests were used to assess the significance of intercountry differences, while hierarchical regressions were performed to investigate the predictive value of the independent variables on burnout. Moldavian participants had significantly lower scores in burnout and amotivation (p < 0.001) and higher scores in EI, POS, and WM (p < 0.001). The main burnout predictors were amotivation (β = 0.388, p < 0.001) and low POS (β = −0.313, p< 0.001) in Moldavian respondents, and WM (intrinsic: β = −0.620, p < 0.001; extrinsic: β = 0.406, p < 0.001) in Romanian participants. Moldavian respondents displayed better adjustment to academic stress. The distribution of burnout predictors suggests better sensitivity of respondents to organizational interventions in Moldova and to individual therapy in Romania. This data could serve to better tailor Public Health interventions addressing burnout in the academic environment.

The primary aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of burnout in Romanian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Students (MBI-GS(S)). The presence of burnout was assessed based on Exhaustion (EX), Cynicism (CY) and Professional Efficacy (PE) subscales. The secondary aim of the study was to identify the presence of intentional shift in medical specialty compared to their initial pursued choice within the population investigated. Data was collected online at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 through a licensed, customized MBI-GS(S) questionnaire from a sample of 126 Romanian medical students at the two leading medical schools in the country, Iasi (N = 56) and Cluj Napoca (N = 70). Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were also applied to describe the data set (age and gender of participants) and the relationship between variables (EX, CY, PE). Subsequently, the MBI-GS(S) group report revealed that 36.5% of the medical students in the sample (46) experienced burnout, with problematic results both in Exhaustion and Cynicism. Exhaustion and Cynicism, which contribute to burnout, showed high scores compared to the average scale (EX = 3.5/2.4; CY = 2.8/1.8), while the Professional Efficacy score was relatively high (PE = 3.8/4.4), showing a protective effect and burnout reduction. One of the main conclusions is that the consequences of burnout in medical students plays a significant role in shaping the future healthcare practitioners’ perception of the medical profession and of patients’ wellbeing. Exhaustion and Cynicism are mainly associated with depersonalization and disconnection from the patient. Another conclusion of the study is that about one third of the respondents (30% Cluj students and 37.5% Iasi students) considered changing residency options. The pandemic has also revealed the limitations of and challenges facing current medical education, and that further research is required to assess the trends in prevalence of burnout in medical students.