Students’ perspective on absenteeism: a cross-sectional study among students at government medical colleges of Western Maharashtra
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20240012Keywords:
Absenteeism, Medical students, Preparatory leaveAbstract
Background: The professional courses as undergraduate medical education need high theoretical and clinical classes attendance as those students will be future doctors and will deal with the health and disease of the public. In spite of implementing strict policies regarding student attendance, the rate of absenteeism in medical colleges remains high and is a growing apprehension a phenomenon that is also on the rise in universities worldwide.
Methods: A cross-sectional study in few Governments Medical Colleges of Western region of Maharashtra using a self-administered questionnaire. Data was collected and analysed through Google forms.
Results: Preparatory leave before every examination required (50.7%), air-conditioned classrooms (49.7%), good ventilated classrooms (44.1%), interactive teachers (41.8%), decrease lecture duration (38%), more practical less theory classes (37.6%) and good transportation facilities (34.3%) were various major suggestions given by students to increase the overall attendance.
Conclusions: Feedback from students must be repeatedly considered while designing and revising the curriculum to reduce absenteeism.
References
Guidelines under Graduate Medical Education Regulation. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.in/MCIRest/open/getDocument?path=/Documents/Public/Portal/LatestNews/GMER2023_compressed.pdf. 2023;41. Accessed on 31st December 2023.
Daubuni H, Aboukanda E, Abuaien K, Jabira Y, Zaid M, Dau H et al. Medical Students' Absenteeism: Magnitude of the Problem and Associated Factors. Tripolitana Med J. 2019;8(2):54-8.
Rubeena G, Hayat MK, Sardar RA, Faizan L, Aymen S, Hifsa S. Absenteeism among the undergraduate medical students. J Med Sci. 2016;24(1):16-8.
Mitra S, Sarkar P, Bhattacharyya S, Basu R. Absenteeism among undergraduate medical students and its impact on academic performance: A record-based study. J Edu Health Promot. 2022;11:414.
Ocak G, Ocak I, Akkaş BE. The causes of absenteeism of high school students. Eur J Educat. 2017;3(4):331-46.
Desalegn A, Berhan A, Berhan Y. Absenteeism among medical and health science undergraduate students at Hawassa University, Ethiopia. JBMC Med Education. 2014;14(81):920-29.
Muzamil HH. Impact of Climate on Student Education and Their Future Development. Int J Integrative Sci. 2023;2(4):525-34.
Heather Randell, Clark Gray Climate change and educational attainment in the global tropics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019;116(18):8840-45.
Sharmin T, Azim E, Choudhury, Kamrun. Reasons of Absenteeism among Undergraduate Medical Students: A Review. AKMMC J. 2017;8(1):60-66.
Preeti G. Exploring Factors Responsible for Absenteeism among Undergraduate medical Students. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2023;15(1):S303-5.
Din MU, Fatima N, Awan S, Mariyam M, Naseer U, Tarar KA. Medical Students' Perspectives Towards Absenteeism in Class. Esculapio. 2023;19(03):365-70.
Eisen DB, Schupp CW, Isseroff RR, Ibrahimi OA, Ledo L, Armstrong AW. Does class attendance matter? Results from a second-year medical school dermatology cohort study. Int J Dermatol. 2015;54:807‑16.
Fjortoft N. Students motivation for class attendance. Am J Pharm Educ. 2005;69(1):15.
Competency Based Undergraduate Curriculum Syllabus for Pathology from A.Y. 2019-20. Available at: https://www.muhs.ac.in/upload/ syllabus/Second%20MBBS%20Pathology%20Syllabus%20030621.pdf. Accessed on 31st December 2023.
BinSaeed AA, Otaibi MS, Ziyadi HG, Babsail AA, Shaik SA. Association between student absenteeism at a medical college and their Academic Grades. Med Sci Educ. 2009;19(4):155-9.
Rao BT, Valleswary K, Nayak MSDP, Rao NL. Reasons for Absenteeism among the Undergraduate Medical Students Attending for Theory Classes in Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Ongole, Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh: A Self Review. J Res Method Education. 2016;6:11-9.
Alghamdi A, Yamani A, Khalil A, Albarkati B, Alrehili O, Salih M. Prevalence, Causes and Impacts of Absenteeism among Medical Students at UQU. Education. 2016;6(1):9-12.
