Res Dev Med Educ, 2023, 12, 14 doi: 10.34172/rdme.2023.33127 https://rdme.tbzmed.ac.ir Burnout and professional commitment in medical faculty students in Türkiye: A cross-sectional analysis Gamze Özbek Güven 1* ID , Feyza İnceoğlu 2 ID , Furkan Özdemir 3 , Osman Sinan Bakır 3 1 Department of Medicine History and Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Malatya Turgut Özal University, Malatya, Türkiye 2 Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Malatya Turgut Özal University, Malatya, Türkiye 3 Faculty of Medicine, Malatya Turgut Özal University, Malatya, Türkiye Introduction Medical education is a challenging process that requires long-term effort and commitment. The main objective is to ensure that students possess the necessary professional competence and prepare them for lifelong learning. However, the academic workload, lengthy duration of education, exam stress, the burden of working under significant responsibility, and the need for continuous learning and updating knowledge can expose students to the risk of burnout. 1-4 Additionally, medical education demands students to allocate a significant amount of time and energy to medical-related activities, which can limit opportunities for personal interests and engagement with family and friends. 2 Imbalance in personal life can contribute to burnout. Burnout, characterized by the depletion of resources due to constant stress, emotional pressure, and high workload, can manifest through emotional, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms, negatively impacting students’ academic performance, motivation, and overall quality of life. 2,3,5 Burnout among students can lead to a more negative perception and evaluation of the professionalism of fellow students, residents, and faculty members, which can have a detrimental effect on their learning. 6 Among medical students, burnout can result in serious consequences such as depression, suicidal ideation, and contemplation of leaving medical school. 7,8 Medical students need to acquire the necessary professional values, motivation, and skills to sustain the qualities they develop during their education and prepare for a lifelong commitment to learning. *Corresponding author: Gamze Özbek Güven, Email: gamzeozbekguven@gmail.com © 2023 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. Article info Article History: Received: July 19, 2023 Accepted: August 2, 2023 epublished: October 26, 2023 Keywords: Burnout, Medical student, Professional commitment Abstract Background: Burnout is a stress-related syndrome that affects medical students. Certain environmental and personal factors can contribute to the onset of burnout and lead to serious consequences such as dropping out of school, sleep disorders, depression, and even suicide. Professional commitment is a personal characteristic that positively influences burnout. Methods: This research was conducted to determine the differentiation of burnout levels among medical school students based on certain variables and examine the impact of professional commitment on burnout. The research sample consisted of a total of 130 individuals studying of Medical Faculty in Türkiye. Descriptive and correlational research techniques, including survey models, were utilized in the study. Data were collected through online platforms and face-to- face surveys. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS program. Results: The research findings revealed that male students had higher depersonalization scores than female students (P < 0.05). Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores were found to be higher among students with poor academic performance (P < 0.017), those who did not choose medical school willingly (P < 0.017), and those who chose medical school due to family pressure (P < 0.05). Among female students, those who chose medical school willingly and those who chose it as their dream profession had higher scores of professional commitment. As professional commitment scores increased, burnout scale scores and their subscales, including exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, decreased (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings of the study indicate a relationship between professional commitment and burnout, suggesting that professional commitment can reduce burnout levels. This highlights the importance of increasing the level of professional commitment among medical students, who are future physicians. Strengthening students’ commitment to their profession can decrease the risk of burnout and improve the quality of healthcare services. TUOMS PRESS Original Article