The capability of selection tools to predict future academic performance of medical students

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

The strong competition allows medical schools to be highly selective in their admissions, with the aim of selecting only those students who are most likely to complete their medical education and presumably become good doctors; it also minimizes the number of poor performers or ‘strugglers’, who were reported in one study to account for academic. The validity of an admission criterion is defined as the degree to which it predicts an applicant’s performance during and after his or her undergraduate medical training, and reliability is defined as the reproducibility of the results obtained when a measurement is repeated on the same study sample. Several studies also show that several non-cognitive factors have a significant influence on academic success at university, additional to the influence of prior academic attainment. The purpose of this research is to assess the correlation between the selection tools and medical student’s academic performance through their Grade Points Average (GPA) over a four-year period. Pre-admission data were matched from students who entered Bandung Islamic University, Faculty of Medicine at the year 2012 – 2016 with their GPA. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 74 selected students who had completed the specific admission test. The variables examined were high school grades, Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test and a total of admission test score. The statistical was used SPSS and Spearman correlation test analysis. The result shows there were significant correlation and a weak relationship between MMI with 1st year GPA, 2nd year GPA, and 3rd year GPA. There was also a significant correlation and a moderate relationship between the total of admission test score with 2nd year GPA and 3rd year GPA. The conclusion is MMI was found to be steady predictor of Grade Point Average (GPA) yet the predictability of academic success is weak and increase for the early years and drops towards the end of the medical under graduated program. Total of admission test score was weak predictor for academic performance especially in the second and third year medical students.