Association between hours of synchronous virtual classes and burnout syndrome in medical students in Lima, Peru: a cross-sectional study: Asociación entre las horas de clases virtuales sincrónicas y el síndrome de Burnout en estudiantes de medicina en Lima, Perú: un estudio transversal ; Asociación entre las horas de clases virtuales sincrónicas y el síndrome de Burnout en estudiantes de medicina en Lima, Perú: un estudio transversal: Association between hours of synchronous virtual classes and burnout syndrome in medical students in Lima, Peru: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: The transition to virtual medical education in Peru has raised concerns about burnout syndrome (BS). Objective: To assess the association between synchronous and asynchronous virtual classes and BS among medical students during 2021. Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study conducted in 384 medical students from a private university in Lima, Peru. BS was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS), which measures emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment on a seven-point Likert scale. BS was defined as having at least two altered dimensions. Exposure was weekly hours of synchronous or asynchronous virtual classes (≤24 vs ≥25). Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated, adjusted for sex and age, and stratified by level of study; p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: BS was identified in 113 (29.4%) students. In Clinical Studies, ≥25 weekly hours of synchronous classes were associated with higher BS compared with ≤24 hours (OR=1.98; 95% CI 1.02–3.86; p=0.043). No association was found in General Studies. Asynchronous classes were not associated with BS (OR=0.97; 95% CI 0.53–1.76; p=0.912). In Clinical Studies, ≥25 synchronous hours were also associated with higher emotional exhaustion and low personal accomplishment (aOR=2.10; 95% CI 1.08–4.08; p=0.029). Conclusion: Synchronous virtual classes were associated with a higher frequency of BS among medical students, particularly those in advanced stages of training. Keywords: Education, distance; burnout, professional; students, medical; Peru (Source: MeSH NLM). ; Introducción: La transición hacia la educación médica virtual en el Perú ha generado preocupación por el Síndrome de Burnout (SB). Objetivo: Evaluar la asociación entre las clases virtuales sincrónicas y asincrónicas y el SB en estudiantes de medicina durante el año 2021. Métodos: Estudio observacional, transversal, realizado en 384 estudiantes de medicina de una universidad privada en Lima, Perú. ...