The Ethics of Student Attrition in Healthcare Education Programs

Student attrition is a problem in healthcare education programs, but there is little in the literature regarding the organizational ethics of lowering it. Some argue that lowering attrition is unethical, because it would lower academic and professional standards, potentially impacting patient care. Others say students deserve to make decisions about when to leave a course of study. However, these arguments ignore inequities in attrition, as well as the conflicts of interest in, and moral obligations of colleges and universities. Lowering attrition rates in healthcare education programs is inherently ethical because it levels the playing field for underrepresented minorities that disproportionately leave programs, provides more diversity and equity in the healthcare system, creates more qualified healthcare providers, and fulfills the moral imperative that programs have to support their students and contribute quality providers to the healthcare system. While lowering student attrition in healthcare education programs is ethical, how it is achieved is not always ethical.