Emotional Intelligence Among Medical Students and Its Relationship with Burnout

Abstract

Burnout is associated with stress and mental health issues among medical students. Based on the previous studies, emotional intelligence (EI) has been proven to be protective against burnout. This cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2019 to January 2020 involving 182 medical students from a public university in Terengganu, Malaysia. The objective was to determine the level of EI among medical students and its relationship with burnout. They were requested to answer an online questionnaire that consisted of the Universiti Sains Malaysia Emotional Quotient Inventory (USMEQ-i) and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The mean score for students’ EI and burnout were calculated. The relationship between EI and burnout was analysed using Pearson correlation. Further analysis was done using simple linear regression. The findings show that more than half of the medical students had a high EI score (n = 105, 57.5%). The overall mean (SD) score of EI was 2.85 (0.52) which is also in the high category. The social competence domain score was noted to be higher than the personal competence domain. Burnout had a fair negative correlation with EI and it was statistically significant (r = –0.395, p < 0.001). An increase in one unit of the EI score will decrease the burnout score by 12.25 units. Thus, EI was significantly and negatively correlated with burnout among medical students. As it may play a role in helping medical students cope with stress and prevent burnout, training in EI is essential for their future professional development.