Examination of perceived social support, burnout and psychological distress in medical faculty students

It is known that the self-reported prevalence of psychological stress and burnout among medical students is higher compared to the general population. In this study, it was aimed to examine the extent of perceived social support, burnout and psychological distress levels of Firat University Faculty of Medicine students and their relations with each other and some other factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted with students studying at Firat University Faculty of Medicine between April and June 2019 (response rate 81.3%). In the study, the questionnaire form consisting of questions formed by the researcher by scanning the literature, Psychological Distress Scale (K10-PSS), Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (MSPSS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Form (MBI-SS) were used. The data obtained were evaluated using Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H tests and Spearman correlation analysis. Ethical approval and administrative permissions were obtained in writing to conduct the study. The average age of the students is 21.87±2.35, 53.8% of them are female, 99.2% of them are single. 91.5% of the participants feel worn out, 60.1% experience sleep disorders. Psychological distress was found in 83.0% of the students. Psychological distress and emotional exhaustion were observed more in women than in men, and perceived social support was found to be higher (p<0.05). It was determined that preclinical students had more psychological distress and burnout than clinical students (p <0.05). Psychological distress and burnout were found to be high in students who stated that they did not have enough time for activities, were not satisfied with their choice of profession, stated that they were not satisfied with the school, had no expectations from the future, and had sleep disorders (p<0.05). It was observed that the scores of psychological distress and burnout scales were positively correlated with each other and negatively correlated with perceived social support (p<0.05). In conclusion, it was observed that the prevalence of psychological distress in students was high, burnout accompanied psychological distress, and as the perceived social support increased, students' psychological distress and burnout status decreased.