EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS, BURNOUT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG NURSING STUDENTS IN JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA UNIVERSITY, IKEJI-ARAKEJI, OSUN STATE

Academic stress is a factor or situation that triggers tension, which can be interpersonal, intrapersonal, social, health-related, environmentally related that impede academic performance among students. This study investigated the relationship between stress, burnout and academic performance of undergraduate Nursing students in Joseph Ayo Babalola University Ikeji- Arakeji, Osun State, Nigeria. A sample size of 171 was randomly chosen. Relevant and pertinent literature were reviewed both empirically and conceptually. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. The ages of the students ranged between 17- 30 years for females - 129(75.4%) and 144(84.2%) were females. Students of 141(82.5%) opined that they believe that stress has a significant impact on their academic performance, 112(65.5%) feel stressed or anxious about academic deadlines and expectation because of burnout.The factors contributing to stress and burnout as lecture durations 153(89.5%), preparations for tests and exams 134(78.4%), academic course workload 156(91.2%).The coping mechanism that Nursing students employ to manage stress and burnout are; Praying 111(64.9%), sleeping 93(54.4%) and listening to music 110(64.3%). Stress and burnout impact the overall well- being of Nursing students causing physical symptoms (headache, muscle tension) 71(41.5%), changes in their mental health 72(42.7%). The hypotheses tested for this study showed that there is significant relationship between stress levels and academic performance at P-Value (0.000) and there is significant relationship between impact of stress and burnout on the overall well-being of Nursing students of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State at P-Value (0.001). It can be recommended to the school management to look into various ways of influencing their students learning ability and academic accomplishment by organizing seminars, workshops and trainings to sensitize students on the ever-emerging academic stressors as well as the effective ways of managing them.