Abstract
The effectiveness of Special Master’s Programs (SMPs) in benefiting a potential medical student’s career beyond admission into an MD-program is largely unknown. This study aims to evaluate the role of SMPs, if any, in affecting the performance and outcomes of students during their medical school career. This study analyzed anonymous surveys of students and residents from the University of Toledo. The data analysis is used to evaluate a student’s academic performance before, during and after medical school. Measured metrics included: MCAT Scores, undergraduate GPA, USMLE STEP 1 scores, participation in research, number of research publications, and residency placement. Of 500 people surveyed 164 medical students or residents responded. Based on their responses, the respondents were divided into traditional (non-SMP) and SMP groups. As anticipated, MCAT scores (SMP: 29.82 vs. traditional 31.10) are significantly (p<0.05) different between the two groups. Interestingly, there is no significant difference in USMLE STEP 1 scores (SMP: 232.7 vs. traditional: 233.8) and when normalized relative to MCAT scores, USMLE STEP 1 scores for SMP-students are significantly (p<0.05) higher than their traditional counterparts (p<0.05). Additionally, SMP-students did not outperform the traditional students with regards to research publications. But, they did demonstrate a significant (p<0.05) proclivity towards surgical residencies when compared to the traditional students. Overall, our results highlight that SMPs potentiate USMLE STEP 1 performance and competitive residency-placements for its students.
Highlights
A Special Master’s Program (SMP) is a one to three-year program that is designed to assist a college graduate’s transition into a post-secondary professional school, such as medicine or law [1]
Premedical special master’s programs increase USMLE STEP 1 scores and improve residency placements one hundred and thirty-five different programs nationwide—a forty-five percent increase since 2009 [2]. These programs offer students an opportunity to engage with graduate level material and demonstrate their ability to master some of the complex topics they will encounter as they progress through medical school
We mined the survey-data to detect any differences, or lack thereof, between the SMP and traditional students’ performance before, during, and after medical school. To accomplish this we focused our examination on survey-data pertaining to undergraduate GPA, MCAT scores, USMLE STEP 1 scores, research, and residency programs
Summary
A Special Master’s Program (SMP) is a one to three-year program that is designed to assist a college graduate’s transition into a post-secondary professional school, such as medicine or law [1]. In the last eight years, the master’s programs designed for those trying to gain admission into medical school have seen a surge in popularity, resulting in the establishment of over. Premedical special master’s programs increase USMLE STEP 1 scores and improve residency placements one hundred and thirty-five different programs nationwide—a forty-five percent increase since 2009 [2]. These programs offer students an opportunity to engage with graduate level material and demonstrate their ability to master some of the complex topics they will encounter as they progress through medical school. Only a handful of studies have investigated the impact of these master’s programs on academic outcomes in medical school
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