ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1619177
This article is part of the Research TopicInsights in Healthcare Professions Education: 2025View all 5 articles
Burnout in Healthcare Education Programs and English as a Medium of Instruction: The Dark Side of the Language of Instruction
Provisionally accepted
- King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Current research findings show that students in healthcare education programs face high levels of burnout. When English is used as the Medium of Instruction (EMI), nonnative speakers experience added linguistic strain, increasing their stress, cognitive overload, and emotional exhaustion. Purpose: This study explores the relationship between EMI and student burnout in undergraduate healthcare education programs in Saudi universities. It examines how EMI affects students' emotional well-being, academic engagement, and sense of efficacy. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. Quantitative data were collected from 213 students using a burnout scale measuring four constructs: exhaustion, cynicism, academic efficacy, and disengagement. Qualitative data were gathered from open-ended responses, with thematic analysis guided by Maslach's burnout framework. Results: Quantitative results showed high levels of exhaustion and disengagement, while cynicism and reduced efficacy were at moderate levels. Strong correlations were found between burnout dimensions, particularly between exhaustion, cynicism, and disengagement. Qualitative findings revealed that EMI caused emotional exhaustion due to linguistic overload, academic detachment from repeated failure, and reduced self-confidence in students' academic skills. Many students expressed frustration, identity loss, and a desire to withdraw from their programs due to the use of EMI.The findings indicate that EMI can contribute significantly to student burnout in healthcare education. Without adequate language support and institutional adjustments, EMI may negatively affect students' mental health, academic performance, and motivation. The study calls for more inclusive EMI practices that address students' linguistic needs while protecting their well-being and academic success.
Keywords: burnout, English as a medium of instruction (EMI), Healthcare education, Academic stress, student engagement, Saudi Arabia, language barriers
Received: 27 Apr 2025; Accepted: 15 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alhamami. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Munassir Alhamami, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.