An Investigation of Prevalence and Predictors of Disengagement and Exhaustion in Pharmacy Students

Abstract

Objectives. To determine the prevalence of burnout in first, second, and third year pharmacy students at a single institution and identify predictors of higher burnout scores.

Methods. A 31-question anonymous online survey was developed and administered to a total of 390 first (PY1), second (PY2), and third (PY3) year students at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. The survey consisted of a modified 16 question Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and 14 demographic and co-curricular and extracurricular related questions. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted as appropriate to determine differences among the studied variables and to identify predictive variables of disengagement and emotional exhaustion.

Results. Seventy-five percent of invited students participated in the study. Results of the analyses showed that PY1 students had significantly lower engagement scores than both PY2 and PY3 students, and that PY2 students were significantly less exhausted than PY1 and PY3 students. There was a lack of correlation between burnout scores and students’ postgraduate goals, curricular involvement, and work responsibilities. Married students were also found to be significantly less exhausted than non-married students.

Conclusion. This study added to the growing evidence that pharmacy students have relatively high rates of disengagement and emotional exhaustion. Because the variables expected to contribute to burnout were not found to be predictive in this study, further analysis examining the positive and negative predictive factors associated with burnout scores is needed. Identifying these would allow the development of targeted resources early in the academic careers of students most susceptible to burnout.