Sara Alshammery, Noha A Aldahian

ABSTRACT

Aim To identify stress and burnout and their factors experienced by dental students in Riyadh Elm University during their educational programs. Methods Self-administered cross-sectional survey was conducted among dental students via emails and cross platform messenger “Whatsapp”. Two questionnaires were designed for the students depending on their educational level and were distributed among undergraduate dental students of Riyadh Elm University. Both questionnaires included the factors that could cause stress and burnout corresponding to the students’ educational level and comprised of family problems, health issues, program curriculum, and others. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Results A total of 292 undergraduate dental students of Riyadh Elm University completed the questionnaire. The pre-clinical survey showed the following five main sources of stress: “Frequency of tests”, followed by “Tightness of time”, “Heavy material to study”, “and Family problems”, and “Health issues”. The five main sources of stress in clinical survey are: “Looking for patients”, “Clinical requirements”, “Tightness of time”, “Heavy material to study”, and “Frequency of tests. Conclusion The findings of this study concludes the main sources of stress and burnout. For the pre-clinical students: “Frequency of tests”, “Tightness of time”, and “Heavy material to study”. For clinical students: “Looking for patients”, “Clinical requirements”, and “Tightness of time”..