Student dropping out during the first five years of the major of medicine

Background: the factors related to dropping out and academic failure are necessary indicators to be considered, so that the educational institutions draw guidelines to head to success.Objective: to determine the relationship some factors have to dropping out of school during the first five years of the major of medicine, at the Affiliated School of Medical Sciences of Puerto Padre of the University of Medical Sciences of Las Tunas.Methods: a retrospective analytical study was carried out with 87 medical students enrolled in the 2015-2016 academic year. The sample was divided into two groups, one with the 20 dropouts of the period and another one with the 67 students that continued their studies. The following variables were assessed: sex, age at registration, motivation, vocational orientation, study habits, intelligence quotient, educational level of parents, family functioning, pre-university performance, university results and repetition of the year.Results: 22,98 % of the matriculated students left school in the first three years; 90 % belonged to the female sex; demotivation reached 60 %; 70% spent less than 15 hours a week to study; 60 % repeated at least one year of study; 20 % presented an average of the entrance examination between 70 and 79 points and 75 % obtained university results below 4. School repetition, bad study habits and demotivation for the major were significant factors.Conclusions: the factors associated with school desertion that took place in this student population were identified.