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First Year Burnout and Coping in One US Medical School

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Abstract

Objective

Physician burnout is increasingly recognized as important for patient safety and physician wellness. Though several studies have examined burnout among medical students, few studies have examined the relationships between coping strategies and burnout. We hoped to preliminarily examine these relationships among first year medical students.

Methods

This cross-sectional study administered to first year medical students uses validated psychologic assessment tools including the COPE inventory and the MIB-HS inventory to assess correlations between the results. Standard correlational statistic methods were used to analyze the data in reaching our conclusions.

Results

A total of 167 students participated, including 53% females. The adaptive coping strategy of planning was significantly associated with decreased levels of emotional exhaustion and a preserved sense of personal accomplishment on the burnout assessment survey. Additionally, the adaptive coping strategy of positive reinterpretation/growth was also significantly associated with preservation of the sense of personal accomplishment.

Conclusion

These results highlight the benefit of using adaptive coping strategies to prevent burnout. These data emphasize the importance of providing students programming during early medical training that encourages students to develop and enhance these strategies to promote wellness while in training and beyond.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Nathaly Shoua-Desmarais, Heidi von Harscher, Melanis Rivera, Tatiana Felix, Nancy Havas, Pura Rodriguez, Grettel Castro & Ellen Zwingli

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  1. Nathaly Shoua-Desmarais
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  2. Heidi von Harscher
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  3. Melanis Rivera
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  4. Tatiana Felix
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  5. Nancy Havas
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  6. Pura Rodriguez
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  7. Grettel Castro
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  8. Ellen Zwingli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathaly Shoua-Desmarais.

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Shoua-Desmarais, N., von Harscher, H., Rivera, M. et al. First Year Burnout and Coping in One US Medical School. Acad Psychiatry 44, 394–398 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01198-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01198-w

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