Study examines risks of students not passing medical school
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 16:29 PM

Medical school can be a very challenging curriculum that some students may not be able to get through due to all that''s expected of them.

A recent study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported that students who enter medical school with low test scores on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), higher debt levels and are non-white are more likely to face issues that could cause them to not graduate.

The researchers examined more than 84,000 students who had enrolled in medical schools between 1994 and 1999, and found that by 2009, there were 11 percent who had been dismissed from the program, dropped out or had not passed one or both licensing exams on the first try.

The study also found that women were less likely than men to either withdraw from or be dismissed from their programs.

"The study sheds light on opportunities for medical schools to develop programs that maximize the likelihood that all students who enter medical school can indeed graduate and pass the medical licensing exams on the first try," says joint principal investigator Dr. Donna Jeffe, research associate professor of medicine.