A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical education
Abstract Background The significance of issues in medical humanities, such as empathy, professionalism, patient-orientation, disclosure of harms, and communication skills, has been widely acknowledged in previous studies. While these studies have showcased the impact of individual facets of medical...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-06875-8 |
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| author | Huiwen Zhai Jiaolong Xue Haotan Wu Shuang Liao Christopher Lavender Yangludan Lv Wanfei Xie Di Wang Yu Cheng |
| author_facet | Huiwen Zhai Jiaolong Xue Haotan Wu Shuang Liao Christopher Lavender Yangludan Lv Wanfei Xie Di Wang Yu Cheng |
| author_sort | Huiwen Zhai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The significance of issues in medical humanities, such as empathy, professionalism, patient-orientation, disclosure of harms, and communication skills, has been widely acknowledged in previous studies. While these studies have showcased the impact of individual facets of medical humanities on clinical practice, there exists a dearth of comprehensive assessments that encompass these constructs and their relationship with burnout and distress among medical students. This study aims to fill these gaps by exploring Chinese medical students’ overall perceptions of medical humanities across different educational phases and shedding light on the intricate associations between perceptions of humanities, burnout, and stress. Methods We conducted a nationwide survey using a web-based questionnaire across 38 Chinese universities. The questionnaire includes Medical Humanities constructs, the Maslach Burnout Inventory constructs and the Perceived Stress constructs. The survey was administered using the snowball sampling method, with the data collection period running from September 8, 2022, to September 22, 2023. Participants included a national sample of 904 students (out of a total of 969) enrolled in medical schools. To investigate the relationships among all the constructs, PLS-SEM analysis was conducted by using the SmartPLS 3.3.9 software in this study. Results The student’s perception of medical humanities was significantly influenced by several factors: years of medical school education (β = -.077; P = .045), work burnout (β = -.208; P < .001), and perceived stress (β = -.467; P < .001). Work burnout was impacted by clinical clerkship experience (β = .106; P = .001), whereas perceived stress was influenced by the number of years in medical school (β = 0.102; P = .002). Additionally, work burnout acts as an intermediate variable between clinical clerkship experience and students’ perception of medical humanities. Conclusion This study illuminated the complex relationship between medical education, burnout, stress, and students' perception of medical humanities issues. It underscores the critical importance of balancing technical proficiency with humanistic values in medical training. Implementing strategies that support students' well-being and foster empathy is essential in nurturing a compassionate and effective healthcare workforce. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9b2be4ccd20d4b22a6a8d0653465a781 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-9b2be4ccd20d4b22a6a8d0653465a7812025-08-20T02:16:34ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202025-02-0125111010.1186/s12909-025-06875-8A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical educationHuiwen Zhai0Jiaolong Xue1Haotan Wu2Shuang Liao3Christopher Lavender4Yangludan Lv5Wanfei Xie6Di Wang7Yu Cheng8State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterBusiness School, Sichuan UniversitySchool of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-Sen UniversityState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterSecond Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese MedicineState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterThe Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangming DistrictThe Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangming DistrictAbstract Background The significance of issues in medical humanities, such as empathy, professionalism, patient-orientation, disclosure of harms, and communication skills, has been widely acknowledged in previous studies. While these studies have showcased the impact of individual facets of medical humanities on clinical practice, there exists a dearth of comprehensive assessments that encompass these constructs and their relationship with burnout and distress among medical students. This study aims to fill these gaps by exploring Chinese medical students’ overall perceptions of medical humanities across different educational phases and shedding light on the intricate associations between perceptions of humanities, burnout, and stress. Methods We conducted a nationwide survey using a web-based questionnaire across 38 Chinese universities. The questionnaire includes Medical Humanities constructs, the Maslach Burnout Inventory constructs and the Perceived Stress constructs. The survey was administered using the snowball sampling method, with the data collection period running from September 8, 2022, to September 22, 2023. Participants included a national sample of 904 students (out of a total of 969) enrolled in medical schools. To investigate the relationships among all the constructs, PLS-SEM analysis was conducted by using the SmartPLS 3.3.9 software in this study. Results The student’s perception of medical humanities was significantly influenced by several factors: years of medical school education (β = -.077; P = .045), work burnout (β = -.208; P < .001), and perceived stress (β = -.467; P < .001). Work burnout was impacted by clinical clerkship experience (β = .106; P = .001), whereas perceived stress was influenced by the number of years in medical school (β = 0.102; P = .002). Additionally, work burnout acts as an intermediate variable between clinical clerkship experience and students’ perception of medical humanities. Conclusion This study illuminated the complex relationship between medical education, burnout, stress, and students' perception of medical humanities issues. It underscores the critical importance of balancing technical proficiency with humanistic values in medical training. Implementing strategies that support students' well-being and foster empathy is essential in nurturing a compassionate and effective healthcare workforce.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-06875-8Medical humanitiesWork burnoutPerceived stressMedical education |
| spellingShingle | Huiwen Zhai Jiaolong Xue Haotan Wu Shuang Liao Christopher Lavender Yangludan Lv Wanfei Xie Di Wang Yu Cheng A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical education BMC Medical Education Medical humanities Work burnout Perceived stress Medical education |
| title | A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical education |
| title_full | A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical education |
| title_fullStr | A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical education |
| title_full_unstemmed | A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical education |
| title_short | A national perspective: integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in Chinese medical education |
| title_sort | national perspective integrating medical humanities to address burnout and stress in chinese medical education |
| topic | Medical humanities Work burnout Perceived stress Medical education |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-06875-8 |
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