Scholar satisfaction in freshmen medical students

Abstract

Introduction: Study that addresses academic satisfaction as an important element in the cognitive-affective evaluation of the academic experiences of medical students. It focused on the first year subjects of the UNAM’s Medical Surgeon major curriculum 2010.

Objective: To determine the degree of satisfaction with the school with regard to each subject in the first year of the Medical Surgeon major, taking into account various aspects of the scholar context.

Method: A survey like Likert was conducted, which addressed the student’s perception in 8 categories, related to school organization. The results were compared between the subjects from the same curricular area and the Z test is used to compare proportions.

Results: Within the subject comparison in the Biomedical Area, we found that Human Embryology has a better perception in 6 of the 7 investigated aspects. For subjects of the Clinical Area, Basic Clinic Integration I obtained a better perception in 3 of the 7 categories compared to Biomedical Informatics I. In the Socio-medical and Humanistic subjects it was found that Introduction to Mental Health I is better placed in 4 of the 7 categories compared to Public Health and Community.

Conclusions: Taking into consideration the 3 areas established by the curricular map of the Surgeon major, we observed a prominent position of Human Embryology, Basic Clinic Integration I and Introduction to Mental Health I subjects as the ones in which students show a better academic satisfaction. The data in some of the categories open up the possibilities for new studies, for example ‘‘class schedules’’ and ‘‘students’ perception in the effectiveness of class contents’’.