Studies of medical student performance have focused on various factors, including premedical academics, maturity, familial background and support, and personal experiences with illness. Most studies have been conducted in countries with highly developed educational systems and similar cultural and social systems. It is not clear that these findings can be applied to developing countries, where the educational and cultural experiences may be very different, and where medical instruction is carried out in a non-native language. Information was obtained from a survey of 153 fifth- and sixth-year medical students at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. The survey measured premedical educational, social and cultural experiences that might affect medical school performance. Men performed as well as women in the medical school despite heavy familial and social commitments. Women's performance seems to be more influenced by changes in living environment. Achievement in premedical years was correlated positively with grade performance in medical school. Competence in the high-school English courses was related to medical school performance. Interest in the study of medicine prior to medical school was not related to performance. Other motivations, such as social gains, financial benefits or family wish, were related to lower performance. Current interest in clinical medicine correlated negatively with performance. Students motivated by the presence of chronic ill health in their families performed significantly lower. Factors influencing medical school performance in developed countries had similar impact on medical students in a developing country. Social factors, unique to the country, also play a role in medical student performance.

Graduate doctors are the primary output of medical education programmes. It is important for institutions to identify systematically the types of medical activities in which their former students are involved in order to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum, assessing academic standards and reviewing admissions policies. Information was obtained from a survey of men and women graduates from three of the early graduation classes of King Abdulaziz University College of Medicine in Saudi Arabia about postgraduate medical training, certification, practice patterns, and other curriculum issues. Information collected from 151 graduates (90%) indicated that 96% were practising medicine in a variety of medical specialties and subspecialties. Six were not practising at the time of the study. Significant differences were found in the specialties being practised when men and women were compared. Men tended to practise in medicine, surgery, dermatology, urology, ENT, ophthalmology and orthopaedics, while women concentrated in obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics. Certification beyond medical school was earned by 49% with no significant difference being found comparing men to women. Men earned the majority of their postgraduate certifications outside Saudi Arabia while most women earned theirs in Saudi Arabia. Graduates indicated that departments in the basic sciences were least helpful in preparing them as doctors, while selected clinical departments were most helpful. It was concluded from the study that the curriculum goals of the College of Medicine, namely a curriculum of international standards producing graduates to take leadership roles in both teaching and medical practice, were realized in part by the graduates surveyed.

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