Abstract:
The consequences of burnout are dire yet little attention has been focused on it among medical students
in a problem-based curriculum. The purpose of the current study was to establish the prevalence of
burnout and its relationship with coping among medical students. It was predicted that the prevalence of
burnout would be high and that problem-focused coping would reduce burnout while avoidant and
emotion-focused coping would worsen it. A purposive sample of 182 medical students selected from a
medical school in Kenya provided self-report data on coping strategies and components of burnout. A
greater proportion of students suffered moderate to high burnout. Correlational analyses showed that
problem-focused coping significantly lowered emotional exhaustion and the sense of reduced personal
accomplishment. Emotion-focused coping significantly reduced the sense of reduced personal
accomplishment contrary to the expectation. Avoidant coping elevated emotional exhaustion and
depersonalization. In general, the hypothesis that problem-focused coping would ameliorate burnout was
supported. It is recommended that medical students be coached on the engagement coping approaches to
shield them from the adverse effects of burnout