Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of burnout among medical students at the Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University using the Maslach burnout syndrome.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University medical students. A questionnaire was distributed to participants via Google Forms.
Results: This study involved 435 participants. Male participants represented 63.4% of the sample. Most participants were aged 23 to 27 years. As for their academic year, most were in their pre-clinical years (1st to 3rd year). As for grade point average (GPA), most of them had a GPA of 4.75-5. Moreover, based on the criteria and method of assessment (Maslach burnout inventory), it was found that professional efficacy was the highest value (87.6%) among other burnout categories. In addition, males showed higher burnout scores than females. Students with higher GPAs were more prone to higher exhaustion levels. On another scale, there was a decline in exhaustion levels in medical students. The older they got and progressed into their academic year, the more decline in professional efficacy was found.
Conclusion: The three domains of burnout, i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy, were discovered to have moderate to high rates of burnout among medical students at Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University; however, the progression of years had a significant impact on lowering levels of burnout.

Key words: Burnout, students, medical surveys and questionnaires, prevalence, Saudi Arabia