Effects of raising the bar on medical student study progress: An intersectional approach

Abstract

Context: Medical schools seek for measures to improve their students’ study progress and are responsible for a diverse student population. Objectives: The effect of a stricter academic dismissal (AD) policy in medical school on short-term and long-term study progress was investigated in a longitudinal cohort study. In addition, differential effects for subgroups were assessed by intersecting gender, ethnicity and prior education (intersectional framework). Methods: Participants were first-year Bachelor students enrolled in 2011 to 2016 in a Dutch medical school. For cohorts 2011-2013, the AD policy consisted of a minimum of 67% of Year-1 credits required to remain enrolled (67%-policy, n = 1189), and for cohorts 2014-2016, this bar was raised to 100% of Year-1 credits (100%-policy, n = 1233). Outcome measures on study progress were Year-1 completion and dropout (short term) and Bachelor completion in three and four years (long term). Results: Overall, Year-1 completion rates increased under the 100%-policy compared to the 67%-policy (OR = 2.50, 95%-CI:2.06-3.03, P