Improving Academic Performance of Medical Undergraduates: Impediments and Solutions

• Published in: RUHS journal of health sciences Vol. 3; no. 1; p. 11
• Main Authors: Nimesh, Archana, Mehndiratta, Mohit, Garg, Seema, Kar, Rajarshi, Pure, Dinesh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sonali Sharma on behalf of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences 01.09.2023
• Subjects: Not available
• ISSN: 2456-8309; 2582-3590
• DOI: 10.37821/ruhsjhs.3.1.2018.11-16

Introduction: Medical undergraduates selected for studying medicine through exceedingly competitive pre- medical entrance tests are highly intellectual and hardworking, yet many students perform poorly in internal examinations perhaps because the initial exposure to medical education is tense and uninteresting. This study aims to find out probable reasons that could affect optimalacademic performance of first year medical students. Methodology: First year medical students of 3 consecutive academic batches were asked to fill a feedback form comprising of questions (regarding their opinion for inclusion of clinically oriented teaching and how often they read a topic prior to and after a lecture). Students were also asked to mention the problems affecting their academic performance. Results: 95.6-98.1% of students wanted clinically oriented teaching. 1.9-10.3% of students read a topic in advance (either always or most of the times) but the percentage of students who never or sometimes read the topic in advance was alarmingly very high (89.7-98.1%). 20.8-25.4% of students read the topic for lecture (either always or most of the times) on the same day after the lecture but the percentage of students who never or sometimes read the topic on the same day after the lecture was quite high(74.6-79.2%). Conclusion: Inclusion of clinically oriented classes and integration of clinical and non-c1inica1 subjects might enhance students' academic performance by evoking interest in subjects to read a topic before and after lecture. Provision for adequate hostels, personal counselling and repeated motivation which is frequently ignored by educators might also help.