Medical student attendance at non-compulsory lectures

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Student Learning Behavior

Background:

• General Medical Council (UK) recommends diverse learning opportunities for undergraduates.
• Increasing emphasis on student self-directed learning in medical curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors influencing medical students' perceived value of non-compulsory plenary lectures.
• To analyze attendance patterns and reasons for non-attendance in the first two years of medical school.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative analysis of attendance data for plenary lectures.
• Qualitative data collection on student-related and teaching-related factors for non-attendance.

Main Results:

• Attendance decreased throughout the academic year, with higher initial attendance.
• First-year students favored biomedical and clinical topics; second-year attendance was uniform across topics.
• Telemathic vs. in-person lecture delivery showed no attendance difference.
• Reasons for non-attendance included dislike of lectures and variable perceived quality.

Conclusions:

• Student value of lectures varies, with some finding them beneficial supplementary tools.
• Alternative learning preferences exist among students, highlighting diverse learning needs.
• Curriculum designers should consider varied student engagement and learning preferences.