Volume 9 Number 2 August 1995
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MethodsThe study was done from September 1993 to February 1994. Examination records and ESLCE results of 402 nursing students who graduated between 1984/85 and 1990/91 were analyzed retrospectively. The data were collected from the records of all the student1 available at the Registrar's Office. Information on sex, ESLCE scores, Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) ____________________________ 1From the Department of Community Health, Gondar College of Medical Sciences, P.O.Box 196, Gondar, Ethiopia
graduate, he or she must have at least a CGPA of 2.00 A student with CGPA of 3.25 or more graduates with distinction (3). In our study, the explanatory variable was the ESLCE score and the response variable was the CGPA. The Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient (r) was used to measure the strength of the association. To avoid bias was calculated for each year and the mean was taken. For comparing the performance of groups, the t- test was used. To investigate causes of student attrition, structured questionnaires were distributed to 62 students and 9 instructors. All instructors and students were included in the study. EPI Info Version 5.01a was used to analyses the data. ResultsAmong the 402 nursing students admitted to the GCMS from 1984/85 to 1990/91, 242 (60.2%) were males and 160 (39.8%) were females. Of these, 267 (66.4%) graduated. The attrition rate was 33.6%. A steady increase in attrition rate from 27.1 % in 1984/84 to slightly over 45% was observed in 1989/90 and 1990/91 (Table I). The attrition rate among females is two and a half times higher than among males. Attrition rate because of academic dismissals is also more evident in females than in males. In addition, males performed better (x = 2.80, SD .:t 0.03) than females (x = 2.60, SD + 0.02) and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Moreover, no association between ESLCE score and CGPA was noted (r = 0.01, SD .:t 0.16). High failure rates due to academic deficiency is seen among those who scored 2.8 and above in ESLCE as compared to those with an average grade point of 2.6 or less. Table 2 shows of the total classroom lecture hours where 46.2% is allocated to subjects related to nursing as a profession. The non- professional subjects accounted for 1 7.4 % of Table 1: Attrition rates among 242 male and 160 female nursing students in Gondar College of Medical Sciences, Gondar, Ethiopia 1984-1991. Valiable Number (percent) " Year Table 1:Attrition rates among 242 male and 160 female nursing students in Gondar College of Medical Sciences, Gondar, Ethiopia 1984-1991.
the total time. Moreover, of the total 2648 hours allocated for nurses' education, 44.3% was devoted to practical teaching. In Table 3, causes of academic dismissals are listed. Too many credit hours, difficulty in understanding English during lecture hours and poor education in high school were the main reported reasons. In addition, English was mentioned as the most useful subject among the non-professional courses by 54 (87.1 % ) students and 9 instructors. However, 24 (38.7%) students and 6 out of 9 instructors reported Maths as the second most important choice. The result showed that 8 out of 9 instructors reported dissatisfaction with their profession. Reasons given were low pay and lack of career development.
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