Open AccessMedical Students’ Experiences of Unplanned Leaves of Absence
Author(s) -
Robert Fallar,
John E. Leikauf,
Olanrewaju Dokun,
Shashi Anand,
Peter Gliatto,
Lisa A. Mellman,
Stephanie Autenrieth,
Craig L. Katz
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
medical science educator
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 13
ISSN - 2156-8650
DOI - 10.1007/s40670-019-00792-4
Subject(s) - medical education , psychology , anxiety , stigma (botany) , medical school , medicine , psychiatry
Many medical students take leaves of absence (LOA), both planned and unplanned. Unplanned LOA relate to personal or academic situations which arise and create the need for a student to temporarily suspend their medical education. This can be a high-stakes decision for the student and the school. However, there is a dearth of published literature regarding the experience of students who take a LOA to guide decision-makers. The aim of this study is to examine the experiences of medical students who took an unplanned LOA and subsequently returned to school.