Attrition of Medical Students in International Medical University - 2002 to 2007.
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Date
2012-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
South East Asia Regional Association for Medical Education.
Abstract
Objectives: To estimate the attrition rate and identify common characteristics of medical students who
withdrew from an undergraduate medical programme.
Methods: This study retrospectively analysed records of students who withdrew from medical
programme among 10 student cohorts between 2002 and 2007 in the pre-clinical phase at the
International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia. Data on student gender, pre-university entry,
banding and English qualification (Malaysian University English Test [MUET] or International English
Language Testing System [IELTS]) were studied and compared with all students entering the
university during the same study period.
Results: Among the 10 student cohorts between 2002 and 2007, a total of 112 out of 1,890 students
withdrew from medical programme with more male than female students. Attrition was more common
among students with Australian University Foundation, Canadian Pre-University and Ministry of
Education Malaysia pre-university entry qualifications. Students with ‘high’ academic banding of entry
qualifications and poor English qualification grades exhibited higher rates of attrition.
Conclusion: The attrition rate among medical students in IMU between 2002 and 2007 was 5.9%. IMU
needs to review the minimum academic criteria for admission into the medical programme in order to
reduce the attrition rate. It is suggested to select students of ‘lower banding’ with better English
grades while reducing the intake among students from ‘higher banding’ and lower English grades.
Description
Keywords
pre-university entry, banding, Malaysia
Citation
Yadav Hematram, Yusoff Noraidah, Tan Kok Leong. Attrition of Medical Students in International Medical University - 2002 to 2007. South East Asia Regional Association for Medical Education. 2012 June; 6(1): 42-44.