Academic Performance In Medical School Research Articles

A geographic-location-based medical school admissions process does not influence pre-clerkship and licensing examination academic performance.

Students are selected for admission to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSM U) MD degree program using criteria aiming to maximize access of persons thought most likely to practice in the region, including use of a geographic context score (GCS) which ranks those with lived experience in northern Ontario and/or rurality most highly. This study investigates the effect of this admissions process upon medical school academic performance. We used a retrospective cohort design combined with multiple linear regression analysis to investigate the relationship between admission scores and performance on pre-clerkship courses, and the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam Part 1 (MCCQE1).The GCS did not significantly explain performance variance on any pre-clerkship course, nor on the MCCQE1, while the undergraduate Grade Point Average correlated with most assessment scores. The number of prior undergraduate biomedical courses predicted science and clinical skills performance, particularly in Year 1, but not with MCCQE1 scores. Performance on Year 2 courses, particularly foundational sciences and clinical skills, significantly predicted MCCQE1 scores. Our data suggest that admission geographic context scoring is unrelated to future academic performance. Further, students with fewer prior undergraduate biomedical courses may benefit from increased support and/or a modified program during the early years.

A Cohort Study Assessing the Impact of Anki as a Spaced Repetition Tool on Academic Performance in Medical School

IntroductionAnki is an application that capitalizes upon the techniques of spaced repetition and is increasingly utilized by medical students for examination preparation. This study examines the impact of Anki usage in a medical school curriculum on academic performance. Secondary objectives analyzed individual Anki utilization and a qualitative assessment of Anki use.MethodsA cohort-control study was conducted at Boonshoft School of Medicine. One hundred thirty first-year medical students were enrolled in an Anki utilization training program from July 2021 to September 2021. Training included educational Anki courses and subsequent survey data collection over Anki usage. Data variables included all course final examinations, the Comprehensive Basic Science Exam (CBSE), individual Anki user statistics, nationally standardized exams scores, and Qualtrics surveys on student perceived ease of use.ResultsSeventy-eight students reported using Anki for at least one of the exams, and 52 students did not use Anki for any exam. Anki users scored significantly higher across all four exams: Course I (6.4%; p < 0.001); Course II (6.2%; p = 0.002); Course III (7.0%; p = 0.002); and CBSE (12.9%; p = 0.003). Students who reported higher dependency on Anki for studying performed significantly better on the Course I, II, and CBSE exams.ConclusionAnki usage may be associated with an increase in standardized examination scores. This supports Anki as an evidence-based spaced repetition and active retrieval learning modality for medical school standardized examinations. There was little correlation between its specific statistical markers and examination performance. This is pertinent to physicians and medical students alike as the learning and preservation of biomedical knowledge is required for examinations and effective clinical care.

Medical Students' Socioeconomic Status and Academic Performance in Medical School.

Background Students from lower socioeconomic groups tend to underestimate their chances of acceptance to medical school and their likelihood of success once admitted. Objective The objective of this study is to determine if socioeconomic disadvantage status is linked to lower medical college admission test (MCAT) scores and academic performance in medical school. Methods Using the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) education/occupation (EO) indicator, we compared economically disadvantaged students to students with no financial disadvantage on the MCAT, Phase 1 National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, Phase 2 NBME, and USMLE Step 2 test scores. Results Medical students in the disadvantaged group scored significantly lower on the MCAT than students with no financial disadvantage. The disadvantaged group showed a non-significant lower trend in performance until USMLE Step 2. Conclusions Applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may perform lower on their MCAT and early medical school benchmark exams, but they appear to catch up with and even surpass their peers on their USMLE Step 2 examination.

Admission criteria and academic performance in medical school

BackgroundDifferent variables have been used to predict the academic performance of students in medical schools. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of demographics, admission system, and high-school background on the academic performance of medical students.MethodsWe conducted this longitudinal cohort study on 808 students admitted to the Faculty of. Medicine at the University of Jordan (Amman, Jordan), in the years 2012 and 2013. Admission pathway, and academic performance data were collected and analyzed.ResultsA total of 808 students [i.e., 426 (52.7%) females, and 382(47.3%) males] were identified. Admitted students were holding 17 different types of high school degrees, and were accepted through 6 different quota pathways (open competition [National unified admission], underprivileged [“Makrumah”], parallel, children of university staff, international students, and others). Students admitted through the open competition and the underprivileged quota(Makrumah) were more likely to graduate on time and had higher graduation grades while students admitted through the parallel, international and others quota were more likely to fail and had lower graduation grades. Regarding highs school degrees, the students that were more likely to graduate were those with IB and the Jordanian high school degrees. The highest graduation GPA was for IB students followed by SAT, IGCSE as well as Jordanian and Syrian high school degrees respectively. IB, Jordanian, Kuwaiti and IGSC high school grades were significantly correlated with the graduation GPA.ConclusionsAdmission criteria such as type of high school degree and grades as well as admission pathways can predict the likelihood to graduate and the graduation GPA of medical students. Open competition and underprivileged admission pathways as well as IB, IGCSE and Jordanian high school degrees seem to be better predictors of student performance in the medical school.

Multiple mini-interviews is a predictor of students’ academic achievements in early undergraduate medical years: a retrospective study

BackgroundOur study determined Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) effectiveness in evaluating specific skill sets based on medical students’ performances during the undergraduate years and compared the academic performances of medical students who appeared for onsite/online MMI.MethodsA retrospective study of 140 undergraduate medical students between 2016 and 2020 included data on age, gender, pre-university results, MMI scores, and examination results. Appropriate non-parametric tests were applied to compare the students’ MMI and academic performances.ResultsNinety-eight students from cohorts 12 to 15 had an overall MMI score of 69.0(IQR: 65.0—73.2)/100 and an overall Cumulative Grade Point Average(GPA) of 3.64 (3.42—3.78)/5.0. Spearman’s correlation revealed a significantly positive relationship between MMI and cGPA (rho = 0.23) and GPA from the first 2 semesters (GPA1 rho = 0.25, GPA2 rho = 0.27). This observation was similar to that for station A in the first year (cGPA rho = 0.28, GPA1 rho = 0.34, GPA2 rho = 0.24), and in station B (GPA4 rho = 0.25) and D (GPA3 rho = 0.28, GPA4 rho = 0.24) in the second year. Of twenty-nine cohort16 students, 17(58.6%) underwent online and 12(41.4%) offline modes of MMI assessment, respectively. The overall median MMI score was 66.6(IQR: 58.6—71.6)/100, and the overall median cGPA was 3.45 (3.23—3.58)/5.0. When comparing the median marks of cohort16 groups, the online group scored significantly higher marks for station D than the offline group (p = 0.040).ConclusionCorrespondence between MMI scores and cGPA predicted MMI scoring during student selection and entry process might ensure the success of their academic performance in medical school.

Evaluation of house staff candidates for program fit: a cohort-based controlled study

BackgroundMedical school academic achievements do not necessarily predict house staff job performance. This study explores a selection mechanism that improves house staff-program fit that enhances the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones performance ratings.ObjectiveTraditionally, house staff were selected primarily on medical school academic performance. To improve residency performance outcomes, the Program designed a theory-driven selection tool to assess house staff candidates on their personal values and goals fit with Program values and goals. It was hypothesized cohort performance ratings will improve because of the intervention.MethodsProspective quasi-experimental cohort design with data from two house staff cohorts at a university-based categorical Internal Medicine Residency Program. The intervention cohort, comprising 45 house staff from 2016 to 2017, was selected using a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) tool for program fit. The control cohort, comprising 44 house staff from the prior year, was selected using medical school academic achievement scores. House staff performance was evaluated using ACGME Milestones indicators. The mean scores for each category were compared between the intervention and control cohorts using Student’s t-tests with Bonferroni correction and Cohen’s d for effect size.ResultsThe cohorts were no different in academic performance scores at time of Program entry. The intervention cohort outperformed the control cohort on all 6 dimensions of Milestones by end-PGY1 and 3 of 6 dimensions by mid-PGY3.ConclusionSelecting house staff based on compatibility with Residency Program values and objectives may yield higher job performance because trainees benefit more from a better fit with the training program.

Prior degree and academic performance in medical school: evidence for prioritising health students and moving away from a bio-medical science-focused entry stream

BackgroundGiven the importance of the selection process, many medical schools are reviewing their selection criteria. The traditional pathway for post-graduate medicine has been from science-based undergraduate degrees, however some programs are expanding their criteria. In this study we investigated academic success across all years and themes of the Deakin University medical degree, based on the type of degree undertaken prior to admission. We evaluated whether the traditional pathway of biomedical science into medicine should remain the undergraduate degree of choice, or whether other disciplines should be encouraged.MethodsData from 1159 students entering the degree from 2008 to 2016 was collected including undergraduate degree, grade point average (GPA), Graduate Medical Schools Admission Test (GAMSAT) score and academic outcomes during the 4 years of the degree. Z-scores were calculated for each assessment within each cohort and analysed using a one sample t-test to determine if they differed from the cohort average. Z-scores between groups were analysed by 1-way ANOVA with LSD post-hoc analysis correcting for multiple comparisons.ResultsThe majority of students had Science (34.3%) or Biomedical Science (31.0%) backgrounds. 27.9% of students had a Health-related undergraduate degree with smaller numbers of students from Business (3.5%) and Humanities (3.4%) backgrounds. At entry, GPA and GAMSAT scores varied significantly with Biomedical Science and Science students having significantly higher scores than Health students. Health students consistently outperformed students from other disciplines in all themes while Biomedical Science students underperformed.ConclusionsOur data suggest that a Health-related undergraduate degree results in the best performance throughout medical school, whereas a Biomedical Science background is associated with lower performance. These findings challenge the traditional Biomedical Science pathway into medicine and suggest that a health background might be more favourable when determining the selection criteria for graduate entry into medicine.

Medical students' rural practice intention: Academic performance matters.

Many countries are driving forward policies and practices to train medical students for later rural practice. Previous research has investigated individual (e.g., rural upbringing) and structural factors (e.g., curricular exposure) associated with rural practice intention. However, the relationship between academic performance in medical school and rural practice intention has been neglected, although optimisation theory suggests there may be a relationship. To address this gap, our aim was to identify the relationship between academic performance and rural practice intention. Data were collected via a cross-sectional (self-report) survey in 2021. Participants were students from 60 of the 96 rural order directed (RODs) medical programmes across China. We asked students their rural practice intention. We conducted univariate analyses to test for associations between rural practice intention and independent variables, including socio-demographics, ROD location, grade year and academic performance measures. We used multilevel logistic regression models to test whether students' academic performance in medical school could be used to predict rural practice intention, holding the other factors constant. There were 13 123 respondents, representing roughly 77.6% of the student population from the 60 schools. There was a statistically significant relationship between student (self)-reported academic performance in medical school and rural practice intention. Higher performers had a lower likelihood (ORs: 0.65-0.78) of rural practice intention. This held across all performance measures (GPA rank, academic awards and student leadership) and for the sub-group with rural upbringing (ORs: 0.68-0.78). This is the first study to identify a relationship between medical school performance and rural practice intention. The findings suggest that students maximise their utility when choosing career options, with higher performers having lower rural practice intention. These data provide insight into the complexity of medical career decision making and can be used by medical school and workforce planners to inform rural training, recruitment and retention strategies.

Academic and non-academic predictors of academic performance in medical school: an exploratory cohort study

BackgroundMedical schools should also evaluate applicants’ non-academic characteristics in the search for successful students and future physicians, but ideal non-academic criteria have not yet been found. We followed two successive generations of medical students at the University of Split School of Medicine (USSM) to assess both academic and non-academic constructs as predictors of academic performance, defined as medical school grade point average (GPA). We also interviewed some of the participants to gain additional insight for future studies.MethodsWe measured study GPA in first and last year, as well as attitudes towards science, motivation, emotional intelligence, self-esteem, and perceived personal incompetence in first year. We also obtained their scores on existing medical school enrollment criteria, the State Graduation Exam (SGE) and high-school GPA. Regression models were constructed for predictors of GPA in the last year of medical school. Four structured pilot interviews were conducted to explore participants’ perceptions of necessary traits for medical school and later practice.ResultsRegression analysis showed that only SGE predicted final academic performance in medical school (β=0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.06-0.64), while none of the non-academic constructs we assessed predicted this outcome of education. The two generations did not significantly differ in any variable except that intrinsic motivation was higher in the generation that enrolled in 2011 (OR=1.47, 95%CI=1.12-1.93, P=0.005).DiscussionNone of the non-academic constructs predicted academic performance in medical school. Their use as selection criteria may not be warranted as they could impact the academic quality of enrolling medical students.

One Institution\u2019s evaluation of family medicine residency applicant data for academic predictors of success

BackgroundFamily Medicine residencies are navigating recruitment in a changing environment. The consolidation of accreditation for allopathic and osteopathic programs, the high volume of applicants, and the forthcoming transition of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 to pass/fail reporting all contribute. This retrospective cohort study evaluated which components of a student’s academic history best predict readiness for residency.MethodsIn 2020, we analyzed applicant data and initial residency data for program graduates at a single residency program between 2013 and 2020. This included undergraduate education characteristics, medical school academic performance, medical school academic problems (including professionalism), STEP exams, location of medical school, and assessments during the first 6 months of residency. Of 110 matriculating residents, assessment data was available for 97 (88%).ResultsPre-matriculation USMLE data had a positive correlation with initial American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) in-training exams. Pre-matriculation exam data did not have a positive correlation with resident assessment across any of the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competency domains. A defined cohort of residents with a history of academic struggles during medical school or failure on a USMLE exam performed statistically similarly to residents with no such history on assessments across the six ACGME competency domains.ConclusionsApplicants with a history of academic problems perform similarly in the clinical environment to those without. While a positive correlation between pre-matriculation exams and the ABFM in-training exam was found, this did not extend to clinical assessments across the ACGME competency domains.

Associations of Postbaccalaureate Coursework with Underrepresented Race/Ethnicity, Academic Performance, and Primary Care Training among Matriculants at Five California Medical Schools.

Studies employing data collected over 15 years ago suggested salutary effects of postbaccalaureate (PB) premedical coursework on medical school class diversity, academic performance, and primary care training. The studies may have limited current applicability given changes in medical school admissions paradigms and population demographics. Using data from interviewees at >1 of 5 California public medical schools between 2011-2013 (N=3805), we examined associations of PB premedical coursework with underrepresented race/ethnicity; academic performance (United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and Step 2 scores, clerkship Honors); and primary care residency. Adjusting for age, sex, and year, PB coursework was associated with underrepresented race/ethnicity, but not after further adjustment for self-designated disadvantage (SDA). PB coursework was not associated with academic performance or primary care residency. Holistic consideration of SDA and UIM status in admissions coupled with robust matriculant support may merit exploration as an alternative to PB coursework for increasing medical school diversity.

Romantic Relationships, Mental Health and Academic Performance in Medical School – A Pilot Study

Romantic Relationships, Mental Health and Academic Performance in Medical School – A Pilot Study

Ultrasound's Impact on Preclinical Medical Student Neurology Unit Grades: Findings After 2 Years.

Ultrasound is a valuable tool for anatomy education, but limited evidence exists for using ultrasound to teach neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. Previous work demonstrated a potential increase in medical knowledge in preclinical medical students participating in a neurology ultrasound workshop, however, without comparison to a control group. After 2 years, we assessed how a neurology ultrasound workshop affected the medical knowledge of participating preclinical medical students compared to a traditional curriculum control group. This quasiexperimental study compared academic performance of ultrasound workshop participants to nonparticipant classmates. The primary outcome was the overall neurologic disorders unit total score. An analysis of covariance was conducted to test for statistically significant differences while controlling for the average quiz score. A total of 360 medical students were included in the study. The intervention group (n=57) showed no significant difference in the total unit score (F=3.206; P=.074), with averages for the control and experimental groups being 87.3% ± 5.0% and 88.4% ± 4.8%, respectively. Additionally, anatomy practical scores and written final examination scores were not significantly different between groups (F=1.035; P=.310; F = 2.035; P=.155). Participation in a neurologic disorders ultrasound workshop did not appear to be correlated with improved curricular performance in our cohort. Further research should continue to assess ultrasound workshops in other organ systems to elucidate the relationship between learning ultrasound and the impact on medical school academic performance.

A Critical Disconnect: Residency Selection Factors Lack Correlation With Intern Performance.

Emergency medicine (EM) residency programs want to employ a selection process that will rank best possible applicants for admission into the specialty. We tested if application data are associated with resident performance using EM milestone assessments. We hypothesized that a weak correlation would exist between some selection factors and milestone outcomes. Utilizing data from 5 collaborating residency programs, a secondary analysis was performed on residents trained from 2013 to 2018. Factors in the model were gender, underrepresented in medicine status, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK), Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), grades (EM, medicine, surgery, pediatrics), advanced degree, Standardized Letter of Evaluation global assessment, rank list position, and controls for year assessed and program. The primary outcomes were milestone level achieved in the core competencies. Multivariate linear regression models were fitted for each of the 23 competencies with comparisons made between each model's results. For the most part, academic performance in medical school (Step 1, 2 CK, grades, AOA) was not associated with residency clinical performance on milestones. Isolated correlations were found between specific milestones (eg, higher surgical grade increased wound care score), but most had no correlation with residency performance. Our study did not find consistent, meaningful correlations between the most common selection factors and milestones at any point in training. This may indicate our current selection process cannot consistently identify the medical students who are most likely to be high performers as residents.

Predictors of first year medical school academic performance at University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery: a retrospective observational cohort study

Background: This study investigated whether undergraduate general weighted average (uGWA), National Medical Admission Test (NMAT), gender and premedical course were able to predict academic performance based on the general weighted average of the first year of medical school (medGWA). Methods: Records of medical students accepted from 2012 to 2015 were reviewed and analyzed. Results: 1528 records were included. uGWA (r = 0.55 p 75points), optimal cut-off score for uGWA was 86.96 with predictive accuracy of 81% [95% CI: 0.77 to 0.84], while for NMAT it was 79.5 with predictive accuracy of 75% [95% CI: 0.71 to 0.80]. Males were 40% less likely to pass [OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4 to 0.9]. Nursing, Physical/Occupational Therapy have final scores higher, while Pharmacy and Psychology had final grades lower than other premedical courses. Conclusion: uGWA and NMAT had significant moderate linear correlations with medGWA with the optimal cut-off score to get a passing grade for uGWA at 86.96 and NMAT at 79.5. Males were less likely to pass. Graduates of Nursing, Physical/Occupational Therapy garnered significantly higher medGWA compared to other premedical courses. Findings may guide the admissions committee and add to knowledge about which criteria would help predict medical school academic performance.

Medical student volunteerism and interest in working with underserved and vulnerable populations

BackgroundThe desire of medical students to eventually work with underserved and vulnerable populations (hereafter ‘service interest’), has been shown to be shaped by individual factors including job satisfaction and financial considerations. School-level factors such as required longitudinal primary care experiences and the availability of extracurricular opportunities to work with underserved patients also affect service interest, but little is known about the impact of student volunteer activities.MethodsThis cross-sectional study gathered data from preclinical medical students via an online questionnaire. The data were linked to academic records, deidentified, and analysed using an ordinal logistic regression model with interest in caring ‘primarily for underserved or vulnerable populations’ as the outcome variable.ResultsOf 121 respondents (33% response rate), 24.8% expressed a definite interest, 55.3% expressed possible interest, and 19.9% expressed no service interest. Intent to work with the underserved was not related to age, sex, race/ethnicity, being from a rural hometown, academic qualifications prior to medical school, or anticipated debt at medical school graduation. Students with no service interest had a higher average academic performance in medical school and plans of subspecialising. When considering volunteerism prior to medical school, students in the highest and middle volunteerism tertiles had 5.68 (95% CI: 1.63, 19.81) and 4.34 (1.32, 14.32) times the odds, respectively, of having definite or possible service interest relative to those who were in the lowest volunteerism tertile, after adjusting for potential confounders. Volunteerism in a student-run clinic for the underserved during medical school was not correlated with service interest.ConclusionsMedical schools looking to enroll more students interested in working with underserved or vulnerable populations may choose to emphasise applicant premedical volunteerism record in their admissions decisions.

The Relationships among Self-Designated Disadvantage, Socioeconomic Disadvantage, and Academic Performance in Medical School: A Multi-Institutional Study.

As medical schools seek to address the growing disparity between the socioeconomic makeup of their students and the general population, it is important to understand the academic trajectory of disadvantaged students. We used a locally-developed multicomponent socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) measure and the self-designated disadvantaged (SDA) question ["yes" (+) or "no" (-)] from the American Medical College Application Service application to examine academic performance of students from three disadvantaged categories (high SED/SDA+, high SED/SDA-, and low SED/SDA+); with low SED/SDA-as the reference group across five California schools. Compared with reference, the DA+ subgroups scored lower on USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge examinations and received fewer clerkship Honors. After adjustment for academic metrics and sociodemographic variables, high SED subgroups performed similarly to reference, but performance gaps for low SED/SDA+ students persisted. Medical schools must better understand the institutional and other drivers of academic success in disadvantaged students.

Does ‘online confidence’ predict application success and later academic performance in medical school? A UK-based national cohort study

ObjectivesThe UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) previously piloted an assessment of ‘online confidence’, where candidates were asked to indicate how confident they were with their answers. This study examines the...

Determinants of academic performance in medical students: evidence from a medical school in south-east Nigeria.

BackgroundMedical education is considered one of the toughest college degrees to acquire. Exploring the factors that determine good academic performance in medical school will help in the planning of curriculum and assist students to navigate through medical school more effectively.MethodsThis cross-sectional and descriptive study enrolled 145 second year clinical students (500 level) of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology in south-east Nigeria using purposive and convenient sampling method. It assessed factors that predicted good academic performances in surveyed students.ResultsMedical students without membership in any campus group, those that receive(s) less than ten thousand naira (≈US$27) every month as upkeep allowance, those admitted through the University Matriculation Examination, and students who visit their families on a weekly basis were more likely to have better academic performances than those in corresponding categories. Of these significant predictors of good academic performance, mode of admission into medical school (Rs=−0.310 P=0.001) and monthly allowance students got for upkeep (Rs=−0.281 P=0.001) had the strongest correlation with good academic performances.ConclusionOur study identified factors that correlate with academic performances among medical students. We propose frequent appraisal of these factors and support system that will help improve performance in these students.

In their own words: stressors facing medical students in the millennial generation

ABSTRACTBackground: Medical student exposure to stressors is associated with depression, burnout, somatic distress, decreases in empathy, serious thoughts about dropping out of medical school, suicidal ideation, and poor academic performance. Despite this, there have been no recent, multicenter, qualitative studies assessing medical students’ perceptions of their greatest stressor(s). Objective: The goal of this study was to identify the most significant stressors noted by medical students themselves, in order to inform the development of programs and policies to reduce medical student distress. Design: Medical students from the nine schools in the state of Florida were invited to complete an anonymous online questionnaire assessing wellness and distress. Students were notified that all responses were voluntary and that individual responses would not be linked to themselves or their program. This paper focuses on students’ responses to fixed-response items regarding their experience of stress and open-ended responses to the following question: ‘What do you consider to be the greatest stressor(s) facing medical students?’ Qualitative data were analyzed using the Grounded Theory method of data analysis. Results: Results confirmed the impact of several stressors highlighted in previous studies (e.g., excessive workload, difficulties with studying and time management, conflicts in work–life balance and relationships, medical school peer relations, health concerns, and financial stressors). However, students also reported unique system-level concerns that have not consistently been highlighted in past research (e.g., medical school administrative failures, concerns about lack of assistance with career planning, and assessment-related performance pressure. Conclusions: Though individually focused interventions have demonstrated some success, medical students self-report stressors that may be better addressed through system-level changes.