Educational success and socioeconomic conditions: the qualifying exams to practice medicine in Ecuador 2017

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relationship between the results of the professional habilitation exam to medical graduates in Ecuador in 2017 and the socioeconomic conditions of the examinees. The variables involved in the measurement instrument and the findings are described by means of descriptive statistics, which show that students coming from private and co-financed universities maintain significantly higher averages than students from public universities. The family academic trajectory is also considered as a favorable aspect for academic and professional success, measured by the educational level of the head of household. It is found that the majority of medical graduates are not first-generation graduates, which could already determine their success in graduating with respect to their peers, in one of the three most in-demand careers in the country.