Gender-Based Variation in The Academic Performance of Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

: Objective: To determine the gender-based variation in the academic performance of medical students. Methodology: This cross-sectional was carried out from January to February 2023. The students were taught two Physiology and two anatomy lectures, then after a month, the theory BCQs test of a total of 150 marks and viva-voce and OSPE of 150 marks (Total 300 marks) from the same taught topics, was conducted. The gender-based difference in the grade of students was tested using the Chi-Square test. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 23.0. Results: Among (n=290) students, 117(40.34%) were male students while 173(56.66%) were the female students. Among the 117 male students, the mean±sd of total marks was 164.8 ±38.67 out of a total of 300 marks, while among the 173 female students, the mean±sd of total marks was 181.50±30.90 out of a total of 300 marks. There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (p<0.01). Conclusion: According to this study's findings, there was notable gender discrepancies among undergraduates and female students performed much better academically than male students, as indicated by the cumulative grade point average they earned at the university. There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (p<0.01)


Introduction
The medical sector is a career that focuses on preventing, promoting, and restoring good health by discovering, diagnosing, and treating illnesses using scientific and highly specialized knowledge.Students should be expected to translate the characteristics of the medical profession according to the Pakistan Medical and dental council that is physician should be a clinical expert, educator, communicator, counselor, manager, protector, and mentor.According to the observation of teachers of LUMHS, female students are more diligent and have a stronger work ethic than males, and as a result, female students consistently outperform male students in terms of involvement and academic achievement.Various higher education institutions have reported inconsistent gender disparity patterns in academic performance 1 .As a result, several studies found that female students outperformed male students [2][3][4][5] .Studies show that the academic achievement gap between male and female graduates is not statistically significant [6][7][8] .For example, some researchers found that male undergraduates had a higher CGPA than female graduates [9][10] .Studies have also shown that the community's expectations of students' academic performance have influenced female students' educational attainment.Mamo, et al found that most female students agreed that sociocultural factors influenced their performance 11 .Thus, gender-related differences in classroom behaviour could explain the higher rate of educational underachievement among males 12 .A lack of proper guidance and support from universities is one of the main reasons why female students' academic achievement is lower than male students in Ethiopian higher education institutions 13 .Female students scored much lower on university entrance exams than male students.According to their high school achievement.In a similar vein, female university students performed poorly academically as compared to male pupils 14 .It is observed that female students are highly hardworking in their studies and typically earn high marks with excellent grades, whereas male students, on the whole, show little interest in their studies and earn lower grades than their female counterparts.Examining gender differences in undergraduates at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences' overall academic performance was the aim of this study.

Methodology:
This Comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at the Physiology Department in Collaboration with the Anatomy Department LUMHS Jamshoro by non-probability purposive sampling.The study took 2 months from January to February 2023.The sample size was estimated as the maximum appearance of students in the exam.The population in this study were all students of 1 st year MBBS of LUMHS, Jamshoro.After data imputation, based on incomplete data, the sample size was 290 (n=290).The students were taught two Physiology and two anatomy lectures, then after a month, the theory BCQs test of a total of 150 marks and viva-voce and OSPE of 150 marks (Total 300 marks) from the same taught topics, was conducted.Then, the marks were compared based on gender.The gender-based difference in the grade of students was tested using the Chi-Square test.Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 23.0.

Results:
Among (n=290) students, 117(40.34%)were male students while 173(56.66%)were the female students.Among the 117 male students, the mean±Sd of total marks was 164.8 ±38.67 out of a total of 300 marks, while among the 173 female students, the mean±Sd of total marks was 181.50±30.90out of a total of 300 marks.There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (p value<0.01).As shown in Table 1.Out of the total of 4 (1.4%) students with grade A, 3(1.0%) were females and only 1 (0.3%) was male.Similarly, out of a total of 38 (13.1%), students with grade B+, 28(9.7%) were females, and only 10(3.4%) were male students.Among the failures, 11.7% were males, and only 9.0% were females.(x 2 =11.53 and p-value<0.01)As shown in because the majority of female students agreed that self-study can help them in achieving a higher ranking.In their study, Ashong and Commander found that while male students' relationships are more competitive, female students are more likely than male students to seek out collaboration and connection with their peers 15 .(Similar to this, female students are more likely than male students to ask their peers for assistance, especially after getting positive responses at first 16 .A study conducted in Nepal discovered a link between a student's gender and academic achievement.The statistical significance of the fact that more female students (71.67%) than male students (70.83%) received first division or higher shows that female students outperformed male students 17 .Male and female medical students did not perform much differently academically, according to a local Pakistani research 18 .Clinical performance was measured in an international study using scores on clinical topic exams and the clinically based COMLEX Level 2 exam.In these two clinical performance metrics, there were no significant gender differences.In clinical clerkship performance evaluations, women outscored men 19 .In local research, girls performed much better academically than boys across all groups (p-value = 0.00) 20 .In a local survey, the most important elements influencing academic achievement were parental monitoring and guidance; less time spent on social media; excellent grades from friends; studying alone without interruption; and teaching style 21 .

Conclusion
Many reasons that have contributed to male underachievement in academics have been uncovered by numerous studies on the same issue.According to this study's findings, there were notable gender discrepancies among undergraduates and female students performed much better academically than male students, as indicated by the cumulative grade point average they earned at the university.Among (n=290) students, 117(40.34%)were male students while 173(56.66%were the female students.Among the 117 male students, the mean±Sd of total marks was 164.8 ±38.67 out of a total of 300 marks, while among the 173 female students, the mean±Sd of total marks was 181.50±30.90out of a total of 300 marks.There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (pvalue<0.01).

ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE
Not applicable.

HUMAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS
No animals were used in this study.The study on humans was conducted in accordance with the ethical rules of the Helsinki Declaration and Good Clinical Practice.

CONSENT FOR PUBLICATION
Not applicable.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Gender distribution of the study population

Table 1 :
Gender-based difference in the marks of students

Table 2 Table 2 :
Gender-based difference in the grade of students **shows high statistical significanceDiscussion:The purpose of this study was to examine whether academic performance among undergraduate students differs by gender.In this study, the majority of female students have good results