Development of Burnout Scale for Medical Students

Abstract

Current study was designed to develop an indigenous scale of burnout for medical students in Urdu language. Total 67 items were generated on the basis of deductive approach by following literature and Maslach’s Burnout Theory (1981). Five experts in the panel, reviewed the generated items and after expert evaluation, 66 items were administered in pilot testing. For pilot testing 50 medical students (25 males & 25 females) were selected from government and private medical colleges of Gujrat and Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used for finding the final scale structure. Exploratory factor analysis (n = 250) revealed 64 items with eight factors. The structure maintained through EFA has been confirmed using the confirmatory factor analysis (n = 250). The model showed an acceptable fit (Chi-square = 263.618, df = 123, CMIN/DF = 2.143, CFI = .961, RMSEA = .068 and GFI = .903) and yielded 19 items scale with Cronbach alpha of .903. Results revealed good test re-test reliability (.909**, p < .01), convergent validity (.904**, p < .01) and divergent validity (-.459**, p < .01). It is concluded that newly developed scale provides a valid and reliable assessment of burnout in medical students and also has implications in educational, training and counseling fields.