Half of Dutch medical study programs considering dropping "cum laude"

Four of the eight medical study programs in the Netherlands are considering no longer awarding “cum laude” to graduates or have already stopped doing so, Trouw reports after surveying the university medical centers (UMCs). They hope by removing the “with honors” option in graduating, they can reduce performance pressure among medical students.

The pressure to perform is high among medical students. At least a quarter of Bahchelor’s students and interns are at high risk of burnout, according to a study by the interest group DeMedicinestudent early this year.

The Medicine Faculty at the VU University in Amsterdam already stopped awarding Cum Laude to Master’s students who perform above average in September 2022. And it had a satisfactory effect, the VU said after an initial evaluation.

UMC Utrecht, the medical faculty in Maastricht, and Erasmus MC in Rotterdam are considering following suit. “We see that the pressure to perform is high among students,” Clara Drenth, a training coordinator in Utrecht, told Trouw. “The cum laude is not the only cause of stress, but it does contribute to it. For example, we notice that students sometimes don’t dare to ask for feedback during their internships at the hospital. They are afraid that such a question will be seen as doubt and ultimately result in a lower mark and, therefore, no cum laude. That fear gets in the way of the learning process.”

The medical program in Leiden will keep the cum laude for the time being, dean Pancras Hogendoorn said to the newspaper. According to him, the distinction can help later in one’s career, and he doesn’t want to deprive students of the opportunity to excel. “Not all students want to get rid of cum laude,” he said. “I also know people who say: I want to be able to distinguish myself. After all, you have a better chance of winning a large research grant, a place in a sought-after specialization, or a top foreign university. I think it’s premature to decide now because you can’t just go back.”

Pim de Boon of the medical students’ association De Geneeskundestudent told Trouw that it is logical that some students want to keep the cum laude. “Unfortunately, we live in a time when students will do anything to distinguish themselves, and your fellow student has become a rival. As a result, many students constantly fear that they are not good enough. That is a fundamental problem that we need to solve.” He hopes the other UMCs also abolish their cum laude status as soon as possible.

Student organization ISO thinks it is good that some medical programs want to drop the distinction. “This allows us to move away from education as a grade factory in which only students with the highest grades float to the top,” chairman Demi Janssen told ANP. “We want to emphasize learning, not performance.” The ISO hopes that the abolition will encourage medical students to ask for help or feedback when they need it.