Organised students are more successful

Medical students’ compliance with simple administrative tasks and success in final examinations: retrospective cohort study, BMJ Volume 324, pp 1554-5

Medical students at Sheffield University were asked to provide a recent passport photograph at the start of their paediatric module. The pictures are distributed to the wards, teachers and hospitals involved in the programme to make identification and assessment easier.

Almost half the students who failed to complete this simple administrative task failed the end of year examinations. This highlights the importance of organisation and attitude in determining an individual's success, and supports the view that disorganised learning is one of the most important predictors of examination failure, say the authors.

It is beneficial to identify students whose learning style and approach are inappropriate, before they fail, add the authors. Additional targeted help may be provided for these students.