# The role of self‐compassion and compassion toward others in burnout syndrome in a sample of medical students

## TL;DR

This study explores how self-compassion and compassion toward others affect burnout in medical students.

## Contribution

The research identifies distinct burnout profiles and their associations with compassion levels in medical students.

## Key findings

- Three distinct burnout profiles were identified among medical students.
- Self-compassion and compassion fatigue levels vary significantly across burnout profiles.
- Compassion levels can help understand and address burnout in medical students.

## Abstract

Burnout produces negative effects on academic performance, and, in turn, feelings of inefficiency that are detrimental to students' psychosocial well‐being. The aim of this research is to determine the effects that self‐compassion and compassion toward others have on various burnout dimensions in a sample of medical students. A total of 235 medical students (61.7% women) aged between 16 and 32 years old (M = 19.82; SD = 2.37) belonging to a Colombian university participated. A cluster analysis to segment the population according to burnout was carried out along with nonparametric contrasts to identify differences in the levels of self‐compassion and compassion toward others between each profile. A series of regression analyses was designed to find out how each type of compassion was associated with burnout on each profile. The cluster analysis allowed us to identify three profiles. The low‐involvement profile (n = 51) is characterized by low depersonalization, intermediate levels of emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment and exhibits low levels of self‐compassion and compassion fatigue compared with the other profiles. The positive‐adaptation profile (n = 104) is characterized by low depersonalization levels, intermediate degrees of emotional exhaustion and high levels of personal accomplishment and exhibits the highest levels of self‐compassion and compassion fatigue compared with the other profiles. The high‐demand profile (n = 104) is characterized by intermediate depersonalization levels, medium–high levels of emotional exhaustion and high levels of personal accomplishment and exhibits intermediate levels of self‐compassion and low levels of compassion fatigue. Establishing profiles based on burnout allows students to be segmented and for precise knowledge to be acquired about the effects that both types of compassion have on the dimensions of burnout.