Medical Students' Perspectives Towards Absenteeism in Class

Abstract

Objective: To examine the reasons why medical students miss their classes.
Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a private medical college of Faisalabad, for 7 months. Ethical approval was taken beforehand. Participants from all MBBS classes and those who gave consent were included. Total sample size was 300. Stratified sampling technique was used. A pretested and structured questionnaire was used to get the response. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. One-sample t-test was applied. P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: Mostly students joined medical field as per their choice (89%) and majority also liked their field of study (95%). Most common reasons for absenteeism were preparation for tests, hectic schedule and selfdirected learning. One-sample t-test showed significant contribution of all variables towards absenteeism among medical students.
Conclusion: There were several reasons why students missed classes, most commonly mentioned by students were “To prepare your tests or tutorials; Hectic schedule and want to spend the same time in selfstudies/self-directed studies.” Teachers must be approachable and helpful in order for pupils to get over their fears and shortcomings. The curriculum should include mentorship programs and constructive feedback.