Academic burnout among pharmacy graduate students: examining the influence of career maturity and innovation competence

doi:10.5246/jcps.2026.04.028

Abstract

Abstract:

Academic burnout among medical students has been extensively studied; however, research on pharmacy graduate students remains limited. In particular, while existing studies have primarily focused on psychopathological symptoms as predictors of burnout, the influence of career maturity and innovation ability has received less attention. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of burnout among pharmacy graduate students and explore its association with career maturity and innovation competence. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese pharmacy graduate students recruited from multiple universities. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire alongside the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI-S), the Career Maturity Inventory Counseling Form C, and an innovation competence scale. Correlation analyses and multiple linear regression were employed to examine the relationships among variables. A total of 219 pharmacy graduate students participated in the study, revealing an academic burnout prevalence of 63.9%. Specifically, 13.2% exhibited disengagement, while 8.7% experienced exhaustion. Burnout was not significantly associated with age, gender, committee involvement, or self-perceived socioeconomic status. However, multiple linear regression analyses indicated that career maturity (B = –0.258, SE = 0.061, t = –4.239, P < 0.001) and innovation competence (B = –0.312, SE = 0.040, t = –7.865, P < 0.001) were significantly and inversely related to academic burnout. These findings underscored a high prevalence of burnout, affecting nearly two-thirds of pharmacy graduate students. The results highlighted the critical need to foster career maturity and innovation competence within pharmacy education to mitigate burnout and enhance student well-being.

Key words: Academic burnout, Pharmacy graduate student, Career maturity, Innovation competence

Supporting:

Yan Liang, Jingli Lu, Yongjie Yang. Academic burnout among pharmacy graduate students: examining the influence of career maturity and innovation competence[J]. Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2026, 35(4): 391-401.

Figures/Tables 5

Table 1. Characteristics of research participants.

Table 2. Burnout, innovation competence, and career maturity.

Table 3. Correlation analysis of variables.

Table 4. Multiple linear regression for factors associated with academic burnout.

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