Resilience among the medical interns is essential and is protective against the state of burnout. However, it is not thoroughly investigated among medical interns. Is there any behavioural and modifiable factors influencing resilience? The objective of this study is to determine the level of resilience among medical interns in Malaysia and its associated factors. This nationwide cross-sectional study recruited medical interns from 17 randomly selected Malaysian hospitals accredited for medical intern training. All medical interns who reported to the selected hospitals from January to April 2020 were invited to answer an online questionnaire. The questionnaire incorporated Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10) for resilience, USMEQ-i to measure emotional quotient, Brief-Cope to assess coping styles, Preparedness for Hospital Practice Questionnaire (PHPQ test) to assess internship preparedness and questions related to sociodemographic, undergraduate training and interest to become a doctor.<strong> </strong>524 from 870 medical interns (60.2%) responded. Mean resilience score was 28.6 (SD = 6.33). Significant factors associated with resilience include active involvement in sports (p = 0.002), high EQ (p&lt;0.001), interest to become a doctor (p&lt;0.001), coping using humour (p&lt;0.001), less coping by venting (p&lt;0.001) and no failures in any clinical posting (p = 0.012). The regression model was substantiated by adjusted R2 of 62.8%. Factors affecting resilience among medical interns include modifiable factors such as coping styles and involvement in sports. The findings could guide targeted intervention to promote during medical schools or internship preparation programmes to increase resilience among medical interns.

interns, 2 restructuring of internship programme, 1 introduction of the mentor-mentee programme and flexi-shift system. 3 The significance of interpersonal skills and coping skills predicting work performance showed the importance of these elements in internship programme. ConclusionThis study showed that interpersonal skills were associated with lower odds for unsatisfactory work performance, while the avoidant coping style was associated with higher odds for unsatisfactory work performance among medical interns in Malaysia. Further study may need to be done on the role of interpersonal skills and coping styles on the quality of work performance among medical interns in Malaysia. The results suggested that medical schools increase efforts to improve preparedness in interpersonal skills and positive coping skills among medical students, which will help them to perform better as medical interns of the future.