Validity of the Medical College Admission Test for predicting MD-PhD student outcomes.

James L Bills,Jacob Vanhouten,Michelle M Grundy,Roger Chalkley,Terence S Dermody

doi:10.1007/s10459-015-9609-x

Abstract

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a quantitative metric used by MD and MD–PhD programs to evaluate applicants for admission. This study assessed the validity of the MCAT in predicting training performance measures and career outcomes for MD–PhD students at a single institution. The study population consisted of 153 graduates of the Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program (combined MD–PhD program) who matriculated between 1963 and 2003 and completed dual-degree training. This population was divided into three cohorts corresponding to the version of the MCAT taken at the time of application. Multivariable regression (logistic for binary outcomes and linear for continuous outcomes) was used to analyze factors associated with outcome measures. The MCAT score and undergraduate GPA (uGPA) were treated as independent variables; medical and graduate school grades, time-to-PhD defense, USMLE scores, publication number, and career outcome were dependent variables. For cohort 1 (1963–1977), MCAT score was not associated with any assessed outcome, although uGPA was associated with medical school preclinical GPA and graduate school GPA (gsGPA). For cohort 2 (1978–1991), MCAT score was associated with USMLE Step II score and inversely correlated with publication number, and uGPA was associated with preclinical GPA (mspGPA) and clinical GPA (mscGPA). For cohort 3 (1992–2003), the MCAT score was associated with mscGPA, and uGPA was associated with gsGPA. Overall, MCAT score and uGPA were inconsistent or weak predictors of training metrics and career outcomes for this population of MD–PhD students.

Highlights

Training physician-scientists is an important educational goal (Whitcomb 2007; Miller 2009; Wiley 2010)
For cohort 1 (1963–1977), Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) score was not associated with any assessed outcome, undergraduate GPA (uGPA) was associated with medical school preclinical GPA and graduate school GPA
The results of regression analyses to determine whether the MCAT predicts unique MD– PhD student training and career outcome measures are shown in Table 2, which include graduate school GPA (gsGPA), predoctoral fellowship receipt, publication number, time-to-defense, and type of first career position after completing training

Summary

Introduction

Training physician-scientists is an important educational goal (Whitcomb 2007; Miller 2009; Wiley 2010). Within the MD–PhD training population, students graduating from National Institutes of Health-supported Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs) are among the most competitive and productive (Ley and Rosenberg 2005; Ahn et al 2007; Brass et al 2010). The first three MSTPs were funded by the NIH in 1964 (National Research Council 2005) with the goal of providing scholarships to those Leon Rosenberg referred to as ‘‘unusually committed’’ medical students (Rosenberg 2008). The rationale for these programs is that MD–PhD graduates should bring unique ‘‘insights of...clinical experience to...research and vice versa’’ (Santoro et al 2007).

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Conclusion