Burnout among Nursing Students: A Comparative Analysis of Annual versus Semester Academic Systems

Abstract

Burnout is a developing problem in the context of nursing education, impacting the mental health and academic performance of nursing students. This study observes burnout of nursing students enrolled in annual and semester systems at a private college in Lahore, Pakistan. Objective: To compare the burnout ratio among nursing students taking annual and semester academic systems. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study design of 139 nursing students was adopted at Rashid Latif Nursing College, Lahore, based on stratified random sampling. Burnout was measured by Burnout Assessment Tool – Student version. The data were analyzed by utilizing SPSS version 23.0. Results: Symptoms of burnout were found in both groups. Over 75% Annual system students indicated symptoms of burnout like frequent physical and emotional exhaustion, lack of concentration, and emotional detachment. Although 67% of semester system students demonstrated burnout as high mental exhaustion rates, they indicated lower rates of emotional and intellectual burnout than their annual system counterparts. Pearson correlation coefficient (r = -0.103, p = 0.436) did not show a statistically significant difference in burnout levels between the two systems. Conclusion: Burnout in student nurses is widespread, but the academic system structure is not significantly linked to burnout rates. Resilience training, mental health support, mentoring, and emotion regulation programs should be prioritized as institutional responses in all academic formats to combat burnout.

Keywords: Burnout, Burnout among Nursing Students, Academic System