Assessment of dropout rates in the preclinical years and contributing factors: a study on one Thai medical school

Abstract

Background The highest dropout rate for medical students is during the preclinical years of education. Several studies have reported possible contributing factors, however, studies regarding the dropout rate from medical education among Thai medical students and its associated factors are still lacking. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of dropout from medical education within the preclinical period and its associated factors among Thai medical students. Methods We collected data from preclinical medical students who entered one medical school in Bangkok, Thailand, between 2017–2019. Demographic data, admission program, pre-admission mental health status assessed by the Thai Mental Health Indicator 66, mental health records from the faculty-based counseling services, and academic achievement were extracted. Data were reported in a descriptive fashion. We analyzed the association between dropout and these factors by robust Poisson regression. Results In total, 914 students were recruited. Dropout was only 1.5%, which was lower than the previous studies. Regression analysis showed a significant association between dropout and mental health problems [Prevalence ratio (PR) 58.20, 95%CI 13.72- 246.95] but not admission program [PR 0.32, 95%CI 0.09 – 1.16] or failing examinations [PR 0.59, 95%CI 0.18 – 1.90]. However, other contributing factors such as financial status, family problems, medical illness, and students’ motivation, were not evaluated in this study. Conclusions Mental health problems during medical education were associated with dropout after adjusting for other confounding variables. Further longitudinal studies are needed to identify the impacts of academic failure on dropout in higher clinical years.

Insights Into Mental Health, Lifestyle Patterns, and Academic Attitudes among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…The majority 368(90.7%) had normal mental health before medical college admission and only 38(9.3%) had mental health issues during pre-admission time. This is corroborated by the findings of Wainipitapong S et al, where 96.8% had normal mental health conditions and 3.2% had mental health issues during Pre-admission [19]. Among the study respondents, 379(93.3%) of the respondents need not have mental health services and only 27(6.7%) received mental health services.…”

The trajectory and transition pattern of intention to practice medicine among medical students in China

“…Second, this paper does not further explore the mechanisms of the dynamic trajectory of medical students’ career intentions, neither discussing time-invariant nor time-varying variables. Regarding the association between time-invariant variables and career intentions, a large body of literature focuses on sociodemographic characteristics [ 3 , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] ], but the existing studies have not found any specific pattern of sociodemographic variables that is particularly important in relation to career intention or dropout. We only add these time-invariant variables as covariates in the regression.…”

Attitudes towards LGBTQ+ individuals among Thai medical students

“…Negative attitudes are often associated with factors such as male gender, religiosity, and the absence of an LGBTQ+ friend [16,17]. These negative attitudes can be associated with lower acceptance, discrimination, and mental health issues, which, in turn, have been found to be related with medical schools dropout [18]. On the contrary, positive attitudes are correlated with higher levels of LGBTQ+ knowledge and confidence among medical students in providing care to LGBTQ+ patients [14,15,[19][20][21].…”