The “Global strategy on human resources for health: Workforce 2030” was adopted by the 69th World Health Assembly. Amongst its objectives is the strengthening of data on human resources for health. These data include the course completion and drop-out rates which are important indices that should be of concern to medical education and training institutions, and to WHO Member States, to inform mechanisms that support recruitment and retention.
Aside from the health workforce shortages seen in most countries, worsened by the phenomenon of emigration, course completion and drop-out rates among medical students and students in allied health professions, have significant economic impact. A high drop-out rate can lead to significant economic losses to a country, as the public investments made on the education and training of students before they dropped out, are wasted. Apart from the fact that high drop-out rates may negatively affect the image of the affected institutions, the affected students and their families may suffer psychosocial problems of rejection and reduced…
