School of Medicine, Newgiza University, Giza, Egypt.
Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Newgiza University, Giza, Egypt.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Nov 6;24(1):1274. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-06227-y.
The transition to college life is a highly demanding period for all students, especially when enrolling into an academically-challenging field as that of medicine. First-generation medical students represent an overlooked demographic and are thought to be more vulnerable to the stressors of college. This study's aim is to explore the differences between first and continuing-generation medical students in Egypt regarding their academic performance, extracurricular training opportunities and future expectations.
Two identical 24-item online questionnaires, in English and Arabic were distributed with five main themes: general demographics, academic performance, extracurricular training opportunities (outpatient clinics, hospitals and operating rooms), future expectations and if participants have relatives in the medical field.
Responses from 1652 eligible respondents from all 36 medical universities in Egypt were received. Continuing-generation medical students achieved a higher cumulative grade, with 46.1% getting an "Excellent" grade compared to only 38.4% in the first-generation. The gap between the two groups was best noted in Year 1 (p-value < 0.001), as continuing-generation medical students were almost twice more likely to score an "Excellent" grade [Odds Ratio = 1.85 (1.48-2.31)]. First-generation group had less training opportunities in clinics (p < 0.001) and operating rooms (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference (p < 0.001) across all three clinical settings in regard to how the training opportunity was acquired. The majority of continuing-generation medical students credited their family members for it. Amongst those who wish to travel, the majority of the first-generation medical students plan to pursue their career in the United States; whereas, most of continuing-generation medical students aimed for the Middle East and Western Europe.
First-generation medical students had lower grades at first mainly due to their lack of awareness of proper resources that were provided by the families of continuing-generation medical students. However, the challenges posed to first-generation medical students prompted the development of higher resilience, enabling them to catch up and even surpass their continuing-generation counterparts. Continuing-generation medical students obtained further extracurricular training (outpatient clinics and operating rooms), accessed mainly through their family members and connections; whereas, first-generation medical students received most of their training by searching for it themselves.
对于所有学生来说，从高中生活过渡到大学生活都是一个极具挑战性的时期，尤其是对于那些进入医学这样具有挑战性的学术领域的学生来说更是如此。第一代医学生是一个被忽视的群体，他们被认为更容易受到大学生活压力的影响。本研究旨在探讨埃及第一代和继续代医学生在学业成绩、课外培训机会和未来期望方面的差异。
我们以英语和阿拉伯语两种语言形式，分别设计了 24 个问题的调查问卷，并分五个主题进行了调查：一般人口统计学信息、学业成绩、课外培训机会（门诊、医院和手术室）、未来期望以及参与者是否有亲属在医学领域工作。
共收到来自埃及 36 所医学院的 1652 名符合条件的医学生的回复。继续代医学生的累积成绩更高，46.1%的学生获得了“优秀”成绩，而第一代医学生只有 38.4%。这两组学生之间的差距在第一年最为明显（p 值<0.001），因为继续代医学生获得“优秀”成绩的可能性几乎是第一代医学生的两倍[优势比=1.85（1.48-2.31）]。第一代医学生在门诊（p<0.001）和手术室（p<0.001）的培训机会较少。在所有三个临床环境中，培训机会的获得方式存在显著差异（p<0.001）。继续代医学生的大多数人都将此归功于他们的家庭成员。对于那些希望出国的学生来说，第一代医学生中的大多数人计划前往美国发展；而大多数继续代医学生则希望前往中东和西欧。
第一代医学生的成绩较低主要是因为他们缺乏对继续代医学生家庭所提供的适当资源的了解。然而，第一代医学生所面临的挑战促使他们发展出更高的适应力，使他们能够迎头赶上并超越继续代医学生。继续代医学生获得了更多的课外培训（门诊和手术室），主要是通过他们的家庭成员和关系获得的；而第一代医学生则主要通过自己寻找培训机会获得。
