Introduction:

Recent studies show that burnout syndrome can appear in medical students even before starting their working life, and it can have potential consequences, both in the health of future doctors and in the quality of care.

Aim:

To analyze the prevalence of burnout in medical students of the UPF/UAB joint degree and its relationship with demographic and personal characteristics.

Subjects and methods:

Two cross-sectional studies were carried out in Medicine students of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (UPF/UAB) in Barcelona, in 2018 and 2019. Demographic, personal and burnout data were collected through questionnaires which included the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey.

Results:

The present study shows that the prevalence of burnout was 33.6% in the 2018 cohort and 38% in the 2019 cohort. A statistically significant increase was observed in sixth grade students (60.5%) with respect to first-year students (20.6%). No significant associations were found between burnout and the demographic and personal variables studied. The highest academic courses showed a significant increase in the prevalence of the syndrome in both cohorts.

Conclusions:

There is a high prevalence of burnout among UPF/UAB medical students. Although it was not related to the variables studied, the results of the present study show that the prevalence of burnout syndrome in students significantly increases with advancing academic course.

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