This study investigated whether professional identity predicts learning burnout among Chinese nursing students, and whether resilience moderates this relationship.

This cross-sectional study recruited 635 students from a nursing college at a medical university in Hefei, China. Data were collected using the professional identity questionnaire, learning burnout scale for college students, and 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships between variables. The mediation effect was evaluated using linear regression and the bootstrap method in SPSS.

Nursing students exhibited intermediate learning burnout levels (score: 54.95 ± 10.42). Professional identity was positively correlated with psychological resilience (r = .42, p < . 001), whereas learning burnout was negatively correlated with professional identity (r = - .54, p < . 001) and psychological resilience (r = - .57, p < . 001). Psychological resilience mediated the relationship between professional identity and learning burntout to the tune of 32.8%.

Psychological resilience mediates the relationship between professional identity and learning burnout. Thus, nursing educators can mitigate student burnout by developing their students' professional identities and psychological resilience.