Introduction

Burnout has been described as a three-dimensional syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism and reduced personal accomplishment, while engagement corresponds to a positive state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. Students are susceptible to these phenomena, which has not been extensively investigated in speech and language therapy Chilean students.

Objective

Compare levels of academic burnout and engagement in speech and language therapy students from different courses of a traditional Chilean university.

Method

Quantitative, non-experimental, cross sectional study. With prior informed consent, 220 students from 1st to 5th grade chosen by probabilistic quota sampling were surveyed. The Maslach Burnout Inventory for Students and Uthecht Work Engagement Scale-Student were used. Data were analyzed by the statistical package STATA 11.0 SE.

Results

Fourth grade presented a significantly higher emotional exhaustion compared to the other courses level. In depersonalization, fourth year again reported a significantly higher level than the second grade. In the case of engagement, no significant differences were found per grade.

Conclusions

Fourth grade presented higher levels of burnout. No significant differences in the levels of engagement were found. The data obtained show the need for further research on this subject in this population and will collaborate to generate actions plans designed to ensure high levels of engagement and decrease burnout levels along the entire curriculum.