• Mary Jane Schilling-Norman, Javiera Ortega-Bastidas, Cristhian Pérez-Villalobos, and Alejandro Díaz-Mujica.
• Departamento de Educación Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
• Rev Med Chil. 2021 Aug 1; 149 (8): 1215-1222.

BackgroundMedical students have a higher prevalence of mental health problems and are more likely to drop out their studies as a result.AimTo comprehend the academic experiences of medical students who dropped out medical studies in a university that experienced an increase in drop out by medical students and consultations to mental health services.Material And MethodsA qualitative study with a phenomenological design, in which in-depth interviews were conducted with eight medical students who dropped out studies. The analysis was carried out by means of the constant comparison method up to the level of open coding.ResultsTwo categories were identified, namely experiences prior to interrupting studies, which comprised the subcategories of academic and social experiences, and motives that lead to drop-out, which considered the subcategories related to vocation, mental health and pursuing other projects.ConclusionsThese results identified the challenges faced by students prior to stopping-out, that are related to academic aspects, peer relations and student-teacher relationship. The main motives for drop-out reported by students were mental health problems.

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