Agotamiento emocional y síntomas de malestar psíquico en alumnos de enfermería

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the level of emotional exhaustion and the psychological distress in a sample of nursing students. To analyze the association of emotional exhaustion with perceived psychological distress. Method: Cross-sectional, descriptive study. In a sample of 113 4th grade nursing students, two validated questionnaires were administrated: the emotional exhaustion scale in the Spanish adapted version of Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), and the Spanish validated psychological well-being questionnaire of the GHQ-12. Results: 27.4% of subjects showed a high level of emotional exhaustion. Mean score in psychological well-being scale was 9.43 (SD = 7.26). Emotional exhaustion was associated to age (r = 0.252; p < 0.01) and to a higher frequency of psychic distress (r = 0.494, p ≤ 0.000). Neither gender nor marital status were related to emotional exhaustion and psychic well-being. Conclusions: A high proportion of subjects showed a high level of emotional exhaustion, associated to more common psychic symptoms. Thus, educational measures are needed to prevent the development of a burnout syndrome and its consequences on the psychological well-being in students.