MedEdPublish (Sep 2016)
Could Attendance at Medical School be improved? A Prospective Study of Medical Education at The University of Liverpool: Study of Attendance at a UK Medical School
Abstract
Phenomenon: Attendance at UK medical school teaching sessions is on the decline. This research aimed to explore the reasons for this reduction. Approach: Attendance was assessed, by way of head counts, at 3rd year students' lectures, tutorials and problem based learning (PBL) sessions at the University of Liverpool. Reasons for absence were explored using a questionnaire sent via email to the year group. Findings: Compulsory lectures attained greater attendance than non-compulsory lectures. Access to PowerPoint presentations prior to lectures correlated with a decline in attendance as did long timetable gaps. Lectures held on-campus were poorly attended compared to those held at hospital sites where students undertook clinical placements. Unsupervised PBL sessions, with sign in sheets, achieved excellent attendance however, turnout was poor when monitoring wasn't present. Similar trends were observed for lecture attendance, indicating that students may be motivated to attend by fear of reprimand. 75 students responded to an online questionnaire exploring reasons for attendance and their responses largely agreed with our findings, however one discrepancy was highlighted. Students reported that access to lecture slides before teaching sessions would not affect attendance, although our evidence showed that when slides were available attendance declined. Insights: Attendance could be improved if teaching coincided with hospital placements. Sign-in sheets, fewer gaps between sessions and multiple lectures on one day would see a marked increase in attendees. In future, medical schools should consider these factors to enhance student motivation to attend teaching sessions.
