Medical students identifying as underrepresented in medicine were more likely to report exhaustion-related burnout, a Yale study published Feb. 23 in JAMA Network Open found.
Researchers used data from 26,567 participants, of which 3,947 identified as underrepresented in medicine, from the American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire administered from December 2019 to June 2020.
Three findings:
- Underrepresented medical students were more likely to be in the top quartile of those who experienced exhaustion-related burnout, but less likely to be in the top quartile for disengagement.
- Underrepresented medical students reported marginally less favorable student-faculty interactions in their learning environments.
- Regardless of representation status, those who reported learning environment scores in the bottom quartile were more likely to experience higher rates of burnout, as were those who experienced at least one episode of discrimination.