Factors affecting the performance of undergraduate medical students: a perspective

Performance of medical students in developing nations like India is perceived to have largely declined. We attempted to assess the reasons behind such trends. Students in their third year of medical study were given a predesigned, pretested structured and validated questionnaire that they filled in anonymously. The key areas assessed were concentration, interest and understanding of the subject and other perceived causes of poor performance. Tests for descriptive statistics were applied for evaluation. One hundred and fifty students participated in the study. Fifty-five (36.66%) students performed poorly. Male gender, inability to clear the previous professional examination at the first attempt, difficulty in understanding medium of instruction, self-assessed depression, sleep disorders and perceived parental and peer pressure and dissatisfaction with career choice were significantly linked with poor performance (P