Relationship between Perceived Stress, Optimism, and Burnout among Medical, Dental, and Ayurvedic Students

Medical schools are known to be stressful environments with never-ending academic demands to be reached with limited time and energy. Such high demands can lead to burnout and stress among health professional students. The objective of this research is to study the prevalence of and the relationship between perceived stress, optimism, and burnout among medical (MBBS), dental (BDS), and ayurvedic (BAMS) students. The difference in perceived stress, optimism, and burnout among health professional students was also studied in this study. A total of 104 samples were conveniently selected to participate in the study. The variables (Perceived stress, optimism, and burnout) were measured using “The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)”, “The revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R)”, and “Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI)” respectively. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The analysis of the results indicated a moderate to a high prevalence of perceived stress, low prevalence of optimism, and moderate prevalence of burnout among health professional students. A significant correlation between perceived stress, optimism, and OLBI burnout was found in this study. Interestingly, no significant correlation was seen between optimism and disengagement (OLBI component). Dental students were found to be more optimistic than medical students. The study implies that cultivating the skill of optimistic thinking, along with interventions to enhance the college environment, can help reduce burnout and stress while increasing academic achievement among health professional students.