Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026
04:22
Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility
Published on: May 30, 2025
Academic dismissal policy for medical students: effect on study progress and help-seeking behaviour
Karen M Stegers-Jager1, Janke Cohen-Schotanus, Ted A W Splinter
1Erasmus MC Desiderius School, University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. k.stegers-jager@erasmusmc.nl
Medical Education
|September 3, 2011
Summary
An academic dismissal (AD) policy did not improve medical student progress or reduce dropout rates. While more students utilized support services under the AD policy, it was insufficient to enhance overall academic performance.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education Research
- Student Support Services
- Academic Progress Monitoring
Background:
- Medical students face challenges completing programs on time.
- Academic dismissal (AD) policies aim to ensure satisfactory progress and identify struggling students.
- This study evaluated the impact of an AD policy on medical student progress and help-seeking behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if implementing an academic dismissal (AD) policy improved study progress in the first two years of medical school.
- To analyze the effect of the AD policy on the help-seeking behavior of struggling medical students.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of academic dismissal (AD) and non-AD cohorts (2003-2006).
- Evaluation of dropout rates, Year 1 curriculum completion, and optimal study rates at 1 and 2 years.
- Measurement of the impact of attending support meetings on study progress.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in dropout rates or optimal study performance between AD and non-AD cohorts at 1 year.
- Slightly higher attrition and lower optimal performance in AD cohorts at 2 years, with small effect sizes.
- Significantly higher uptake of voluntary support services by AD students (68.9%) compared to non-AD students (39.8%).
- Attending support meetings correlated with higher Year 1 curriculum completion rates for AD students.
Conclusions:
- The academic dismissal (AD) policy did not improve overall study progress or completion rates in the initial two years of medical school.
- Support service utilization increased significantly under the AD policy.
- While support attendance improved outcomes for participants, the existing support system was insufficient to boost overall academic progress.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
01:15Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients
Bioavailability studies are essential for evaluating a drug's therapeutic efficacy and understanding its absorption patterns under various physiological conditions. Conducting such studies on target patient populations provides more relevant data by simulating real-world disease states. However, practical challenges often necessitate the use of young, healthy adult volunteers as study subjects.Patients may exhibit altered drug absorption patterns due to the effects of the disease itself,...
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
01:15Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...
01:08Obedience
According to obedience research, we may harm others under the forceful pressures of an authority figure (Milgram, 1974). How about if the inappropriate orders were delivered with less force? The increasing interdependence between nurses and physicians compelled Hofling and his colleagues to explore nurses’ reactions to a potentially harmful medical request made by the perceived authority figure, the doctor (Hofling, Brotzman, Dalrymple, Graves, & Pierce, 1966). In this situation, obedience...
01:29Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Affecting Factors
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is the clinical practice of measuring specific drug levels in a patient's blood or body tissues to manage and optimize therapy. TDM is crucial for drugs with narrow therapeutic windows, like warfarin and phenytoin, where incorrect doses can lead to treatment failure or severe side effects. This monitoring ensures the dosage administered is within a safe and effective range. The factors affecting therapeutic drug monitoring include:Patient-Specific Factors:a.