Dropout thought among medical students at Faculty of Medicine Prince of Songkla University Running Head: dropout thought among medical students

Abstract

Objective: To explore a dropout thought as well as to identify the predictors or associated factors of a dropout thought among medical students at the pre-clinical and clinical level.
Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed 3^rd and 6^th year medical students at the end of the 2018 academic year. The questionnaire comprised 2 parts: 1) The demographic characteristics
questionnaire. 2) The questionnaire of dropout thought. The results were presented as percentage, frequency, mean, and standard deviation. The factors associated with dropout thought were analyzed using the chi-square test.
Results: The total number of participants who completed the questionnaires was 259, 140 female (54.1%), and 119 male (45.9%) participants. The prevalence of dropout thought among pre-clinical and clinical medical students was 33 (22.9%) and 26 (22.6%), respectively. The majority of them reported their frequency of dropout thought as being infrequent. The majority of the factors
that caused dropout thought were; study being too hard, dislike of their learning environment  and medical courses did not match up with their interests. The positive factors that maintained
their continuous studying within the medical program were; making their parents proud, an inner passion of being a doctor and studying with close friends.
Conclusion: About one-fifth of medical students have ever had dropout thought. The majority causes of dropout thought are; study being too hard, dislike of their learning environment and medical courses not matching up to their interests, whereas the family factor and their passion are positive factors to maintain a course of medical study.