Performance Of Medical Students Research Articles

Factors related to academic performance in medical students

Introduction. Academic performance in medical students can be influenced by several factors, including those related to mental health and family relationships. Objective. To examine the factors affecting academic performance in medical students, specifically considering potential diagnoses of depression. Method. A survey was conducted among 747 fourth-year medical students. The survey included questions on sociodemographic variables, mental health, and well-being. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) was utilized, encompassing sections on depression, anxiety, panic, eating habits, alcohol consumption, and the Stress Perception Scale. Academic performance was assessed based on students' Grade Point Average (GPA). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and a linear regression model were employed for data analysis. Results. The study revealed several variables significantly associated with GPA. Age (r = -.388), financial situation (r = .241), relationships with cohabitants (r = .165), and relationships with peers (r = .217) were found to have a correlation with academic performance. Additionally, repeating a course was found to be significantly associated with a person's GPA (r = .518) even after controlling for depression. Discussion and conclusion. The findings indicate that robust mental health, a favorable financial situation, and positive interpersonal relationships are crucial for achieving optimal academic performance in medical students. These results emphasize the need to address mental health concerns, promote a supportive social environment, and provide financial assistance to enhance the educational outcomes of medical students.

Chatbot vs Medical Student Performance on Free-Response Clinical Reasoning Examinations

This study compares performance on free-response clinical reasoning examinations of first- and second-year medical students vs 2 models of a popular chatbot.

Investigating the Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Worry, and Its Relationship with the Academic Performance of Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran

Background: Students’ academic performance and university output can be affected by mental health. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and worry and its relationship with the academic performance of medical students during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Iran. Methods: In this descriptive-correlational research, 261 medical students participated in Iran. The standard Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Pennsylvania Standard Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) were used to collect data. Similarly, students’ grade point averages (GPAs) were considered an indicator of their academic performance. The statistical analysis was carried out using IBM’s Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25.0. The level of statistical significance was reported at P

Empowering human anatomy education through gamification and artificial intelligence: An innovative approach to knowledge appropriation.

Gamification has appeared as an alternative educational methodology to traditional tools. Specifically, in anatomy teaching, multiple technological applications have emerged in response to the difficulties of accessing cadaveric material; however, there is insufficient information about the effects of these applications on the performance achieved by students, or about to the best way to adapt learning to meet their educational needs. In this study, we investigated how teaching human anatomy through a mobile gamified technological tool containing recommendation systems can be combined with a virtual assistant to improve the learning and academic performance of medical students in the Anatomy Department at the Universidad de La Frontera in Temuco, Chile and the Anatomy Department at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. In total, 131 students participated in the experiment, which was divided into two case studies. The main findings led to the conclusion that gamified components support students in learning anatomy. In addition, the predictions and recommendations provided by the virtual assistant enabled the academic aspects that the students needed to improve to be extracted adequately. Future work is expected to support adaptive learning by incorporating new artificial intelligence in education elements that can generate personalized scenarios for studying anatomy based on the application.

Gender-Based Variation in The Academic Performance of Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To determine the gender-based variation in the academic performance of medical students. Methodology: This cross-sectional was carried out from January to February 2023. The students were taught two Physiology and two anatomy lectures, then after a month, the theory BCQs test of a total of 150 marks and viva-voce and OSPE of 150 marks (Total 300 marks) from the same taught topics, was conducted. The gender-based difference in the grade of students was tested using the Chi-Square test. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 23.0. Results: Among (n=290) students, 117(40.34%) were male students while 173(56.66%) were the female students. Among the 117 male students, the mean±sd of total marks was 164.8 ±38.67 out of a total of 300 marks, while among the 173 female students, the mean±sd of total marks was 181.50±30.90 out of a total of 300 marks. There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (p<0.01). Conclusion: According to this study's findings, there was notable gender discrepancies among undergraduates and female students performed much better academically than male students, as indicated by the cumulative grade point average they earned at the university. There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (p<0.01).

Gender-Based Variation in The Academic Performance of Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To determine the gender-based variation in the academic performance of medical students. Methodology: This cross-sectional was carried out from January to February 2023. The students were taught two Physiology and two anatomy lectures, then after a month, the theory BCQs test of a total of 150 marks and viva-voce and OSPE of 150 marks (Total 300 marks) from the same taught topics, was conducted. The gender-based difference in the grade of students was tested using the Chi-Square test. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 23.0. Results: Among (n=290) students, 117(40.34%) were male students while 173(56.66%) were the female students. Among the 117 male students, the mean±sd of total marks was 164.8 ±38.67 out of a total of 300 marks, while among the 173 female students, the mean±sd of total marks was 181.50±30.90 out of a total of 300 marks. There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (p<0.01). Conclusion: According to this study's findings, there was notable gender discrepancies among undergraduates and female students performed much better academically than male students, as indicated by the cumulative grade point average they earned at the university. There was a statistically significant difference in the score of students based on gender (p<0.01).

ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION WITH ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION, PERFORMANCE AND INSOMNIA AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS

Objectives: Social Networking Site Addiction [SNSA] has been overwhelmingly increasing in the past few years, with obvious adverse effects on its users. This addiction has created a strong tendency in academic students to procrastinate, lose sleep and also has affected their academic performance. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted to find out the association of social media addiction with academic procrastination, performance, and insomnia. Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at department of psychiatry Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center (JPMC) from 12th July, 2021 till 24th December, 2021. Patients and Methods: This study was open to undergraduate students and those who had recently commenced their internship at JPMC. Any student who was absent from their assigned ward or did not provide consent was excluded from the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire that consisted of three pre-formed scales for social media addiction, academic procrastination, and insomnia. In addition, demographic information such as age, gender, and year of study was also gathered. Results: Our study involved 231 participants and found that higher levels of procrastination, especially in males, were significantly correlated with decreased sleep quality (p<0.0001). We used the Chi-Square test and Independent Samples t-test to determine this relationship. However, we did not find a significant correlation between SNSA and the academic performance of medical students. Conclusion: This study underlines that medical students with high levels of social media addiction may have an increased risk for negative outcomes of academic procrastination and insomnia.

Medical Students' Performances Using Different Assessment Methods during the Final Examination in Internal Medicine at the University of Benghazi, Libya

Background Distinctive evaluation tools assess diverse fields of learning that considerably impact the learning process. Objective To compare and correlate the performances of undergraduate final year medical students in written, clinical, and viva examinations in the subject of internal medicine. Methods This is a retrospective study. After authority approval, data was collected from final year examination results during 2019 to 2020. All the students of the medical school at University of Benghazi were included in this study. Their gender and their written, clinical, viva, and total scores were included. Data were coded and transferred from Excel to SPSS version 24 and expressed as frequencies and percentages. Chi-squared analysis was performed to test for differences in the proportions of categorical variables between two or more groups. Odd ratio (OR) is used to calculate the odds of passing the subject based on scores in different types of exams. Person's correlation (R) is used to evaluate the consistency of students' performances in different examinations. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered the cut-off value of significant. Results The total number of students was 679, out of which 499 (73.5%) were females and 180 (26.5%) were males. The total number of students who passed the course was 422 (62%) with no significant differences between males and females. A statistically significant (p < 0.001) greater percentage of students achieved a passing score in clinical assessment (502 [73.9%]), followed by viva assessment (458.0 [67.5%]). The students performed the worse in written examination with only 291/679 (43%) students passing the examination, with no gender-based differences. There was a highly significant association between the total score of students who passed the subject and their scores in the written examination with an OR of 2.3 (p < 0.001). Viva examination and total score OR was 0.79 with no significant differences for males or females. On the contrary, there was a statistically significant negative association between clinical exams and total scores of students who passed the subject (OR = 0.58). There was a highly significant correlation (p < 0.001) between written examination and viva examination (R = 0.638), between written examination and clinical examination (R = 0.629), and between clinical and viva examinations (R = 0.763). Conclusion Students demonstrated higher performance on clinical and viva exams compared with written exams. Additionally, there were no notable disparities in results between male and female students across any of the three exam types. The written exam served as the most reliable indicator of a student's success in the subject. Furthermore, the data revealed a positive correlation between scores on the different exam formats, indicating that students exhibited consistent performance across all modes of evaluation.

Academic Performance of Preclinical Medical Students in Association with Gender, Ethnicity and Entry Qualification

Various qualifications are accepted as the entry requirement into the Medical School of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) including Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), matriculation and Asasi Sains Pertanian (ASPER). We aim to determine the relationship between academic performance of preclinical medical students with sociodemographic factors of gender, ethnicity and entry qualification. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using secondary data from the Deputy Dean’s Office (Academic of Medicine) of the Medical School of UPM. Information was obtained on three cohorts of preclinical medical students (n = 308), which includes gender, ethnicity, entry qualification and examination results of Packages 1 to 9 and the Professional Examination I. Their identities and year of enrolment were kept anonymous. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) v26.0 using chi-square or Fisher’s exact test (significant if p < 0.05). No significant association was seen between gender and the academic performances of the preclinical medical students. The Chinese ethnic group had a significant association with good academic performance, whereas the Malay ethnic group had an association with poor academic performance. There were significant associations between STPM intake and good academic performance for Cohort 1 in Package 1 (p = 0.007); 2 (p < 0.001); 5 (p = 0.007); 6 (p = 0.012); 7 (p = 0.006); 8 (p = 0.002) and for Cohort 2 in Package 1 (p = 0.049), 6 (p = 0.031) and 9 (p = 0.049) but no significant association for Cohort 3. In conclusion, academic performance is significantly associated with Chinese and Malay ethnicity. Furthermore, STPM graduates outperformed students from other entry qualifications in the Medical School of UPM.

Establishment and Management of an Educational Outcome Cohort at the Keimyung University School of Medicine

An educational outcome cohort has been established at Keimyung University School of Medicine to help make educational policy decisions and improve educational programs based on data. The purpose of the educational outcome cohort is to support educational policy decisions for achieving graduation outcomes smoothly and to accomplish the intended human resources development of the university through objective analyses and regular monitoring, providing continuous feedback. The data collected for the educational outcome cohort include the student identifications of freshmen, entrance exam scores, premedical and medical school grades, titles and forms of student academic research, the results of psychological testing, scholarship recipient lists, volunteer clubs, and so forth. The data are collected using an information utilization agreement approved by the Institutional Review Board, and the collected data are encrypted and stored on a dedicated computer for enhanced personal information security. Proposals to access and utilize the educational outcome cohort data must be discussed and approved by the Educational Outcome Cohort Committee, which decides on the scope and method of utilization. The collected and managed educational outcome cohort data have been used to develop comparative programs to improve students’ competency and to support admission policy decisions through an analysis of the characteristics and performance of medical school students. The establishment and utilization of the educational outcome cohort will play an important role in determining the School of Medicine’s educational policies and suggesting new directions for educational policies in the future.

ChatGPT in medical school: how successful is AI in progress testing?

ABSTRACT Background As generative artificial intelligence (AI), ChatGPT provides easy access to a wide range of information, including factual knowledge in the field of medicine. Given that knowledge acquisition is a basic determinant of physicians’ performance, teaching and testing different levels of medical knowledge is a central task of medical schools. To measure the factual knowledge level of the ChatGPT responses, we compared the performance of ChatGPT with that of medical students in a progress test. Methods A total of 400 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) from the progress test in German-speaking countries were entered into ChatGPT’s user interface to obtain the percentage of correctly answered questions. We calculated the correlations of the correctness of ChatGPT responses with behavior in terms of response time, word count, and difficulty of a progress test question. Results Of the 395 responses evaluated, 65.5% of the progress test questions answered by ChatGPT were correct. On average, ChatGPT required 22.8 s (SD 17.5) for a complete response, containing 36.2 (SD 28.1) words. There was no correlation between the time used and word count with the accuracy of the ChatGPT response (correlation coefficient for time rho = −0.08, 95% CI [−0.18, 0.02], t(393) = −1.55, p = 0.121; for word count rho = −0.03, 95% CI [−0.13, 0.07], t(393) = −0.54, p = 0.592). There was a significant correlation between the difficulty index of the MCQs and the accuracy of the ChatGPT response (correlation coefficient for difficulty: rho = 0.16, 95% CI [0.06, 0.25], t(393) = 3.19, p = 0.002). Conclusion ChatGPT was able to correctly answer two-thirds of all MCQs at the German state licensing exam level in Progress Test Medicine and outperformed almost all medical students in years 1–3. The ChatGPT answers can be compared with the performance of medical students in the second half of their studies.

Correlation of Physical Activity to Mental Health State and Grade Point Average Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Physical activity (PA) significantly impacts mental health. However, studies addressing the influence of PA on the mental health and academic performance of medical students are scarce. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 2,819 students pursuing their medical degrees in Saudi Arabia. PA was measured using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, and the state of their mental health was recorded using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A multi-logistic regression was performed to predict the risk factor of poor academic performance. The prevalence of abnormal anxiety and depression levels were found to be 45.3% and 31.6%, respectively, which were comparatively more prevalent among students of younger age (p < 0.001). Students with abnormal anxiety levels had significantly lower grade point average (GPA) levels than others (p < 0.001). Those who were aged < 21 years, female gender, with chronic disease presence, low PA levels, and abnormal anxiety levels were independently associated with lower GPA levels (p < 0.05). Low PA and high anxiety and depression levels were found to affect the academic performance of medical students in Saudi Arabia. Hence, health education about the importance of PA should be directed to those students.

Can trauma leagues contribute to better cognitive performance and technical skills of medical students? The experience of the Unicamp trauma league.

Trauma leagues (TLs) are extracurricular programs that offer medical students supervised exposure to trauma and acute care surgery, mentorship, and participation in other academic activities. TLs are fully approved medical schools, and currently, over 100 TLs exist in Brazil. We hypothesized that the performance/competence of medical students who participated in TLs was superior compared to non-participants. This study evaluated and compared the cognitive performance and technical skills of the two groups. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the performance of TL medical students to non-TL alumni from 2005 to 2017, using the students' academic performance coefficient, Clinical Competence Assessment, and Progress Test results. SigmaPlot 12.0 software was used to perform statistical analyses, including Mann-Whitney comparison tests and the Kruskal-Wallis test to confirm the data. Of the 1366 medical students who graduated from a Brazilian university, 966 were included, with 17.9% having participated in TL. Compared to non-TL participants, TL students demonstrated better cognitive performance according to the performance coefficient (p = 0.017) and Progress Test result (p < 0.001), and higher achievement in the Clinical Competence Assessment (p < 0.001). The academic performance of TL students was superior to that of non-TL students at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), suggesting a positive impact of TL in the preparation of future doctors. The study findings suggest that participation in TL at Unicamp was beneficial in preparing better doctors and should be considered by medical schools worldwide. II (Retrospective cohort).

Improvement of Medical Student Performance in Telemedicine Standardized Patient Encounters Following an Educational Intervention.

The Association of American Medical Colleges identifies telemedicine competence as an important skill for graduating medical students, but which educational methods are effective in improving student performance is unclear. We aimed to assess the impact of two educational interventions on student performance in telemedicine standardized patient encounters. Sixty second-year medical students participated in the telemedicine curriculum during their required longitudinal ambulatory clerkship. Students first completed a preintervention telemedicine standardized patient (SP) encounter in October 2020. They subsequently were assigned to two intervention groups (ie, a role-play intervention, N=30; a faculty demonstration, N=30) and completed a teaching case. In December 2020, they completed a postintervention telemedicine SP encounter. Each case was a unique clinical scenario. SPs scored the encounters across six domains based on a standardized performance checklist. We compared the median scores for these domains and the median total score pre- and postintervention (using Wilcoxon signed rank and rank-sum tests) and the difference in median score by intervention type. Students scored highly in history-taking and communication performance but had low physical exam (PE) and assessment/plan scores. Postintervention, median scores in PE (ie, median score difference 2, interquartile ranges [IQR] 1-3.5, P&lt;.001), assessment/plan (ie, median score difference 0.5, IQR 0-2, P=.005), and overall performance improved significantly (ie, median score difference 3, IQR 0-5, P&lt;.001). Early medical students had low performance at baseline in telemedicine PE and assessment/plan skills, but both a role-play intervention and faculty demonstration led to significant increases in student performance.

Exam Anxiety and Its Associated Risk Factors Among Indian Medical Undergraduates

Background: Exam anxiety is a global troublesome psychological problem, impairing the academic performance of medical students. This study was planned to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of Exam anxiety among Indian medical students Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 230 Indian medical undergraduate students. Westside Test Anxiety Inventory (WTAI) was used to estimate the level of Exam anxiety among medical students. We utilized multivariable logistic regression to identify independent risk factors among medical students. Results: The prevalence of high Exam Anxiety among medical students was 49.6 % (95% CI 43.9-57.0). The mean age of the students was 21.3 years. Multivariable logistic regression revealed the presence of excessive course load [AOR=2.22,95% CI:(1.03,4.78)], the presence of psychological stress [AOR=2.89,95% CI:(1.51,5.48)] and low self-esteem [AOR=8.15,95% CI:(1.51,43.96)] to be independent risk factors for exam anxiety. Conclusions: Our study findings suggest that the prevalence of Exam anxiety is very high among Indian undergraduate medical students. Our study also showed that the perception of excessive course load, psychological stress and low self-esteem were the independent risk factors in medical students.

Impact of social media on the academic performance of second-year medical students at a public sector medical college in Pakistan

Background and aim: The students are using a lot of social media in recent times which was not the case in old times. The excessive use of social media may have an impact on the annual academic performance of the students. We studied the impact of social media on academic performance. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among second-year medical students at a public sector medical college in Pakistan from 5th June 2022 till 5th July 2022. Informed consent was taken, and a validated questionnaire was designed to collect data and was hosted in Google Forms to allow students to fill out the questionnaire. Results: The Mean ± SD of the marks secured by the students in anatomy was 135±14.5, the average cumulative marks of students in physiology were 142±12.3, in biochemistry, the average cumulative marks were 154±13.1 and the mean of the total marks secured by the students in their first Professional examination was 431±33.4. Regarding grade distribution, in anatomy the median of the grades was 2.5±1.0, in physiology, the cumulative grade of students was 3.0±1.0, the cumulative grade of students in Biochemistry was 3.5±0.7. The combined grades of students for all the subjects were 3.0±1.0.

Sleep Disorder and its Effect on Academic Performance of Medical Students in Jos, North Central Nigeria

Sleep Disorder and its Effect on Academic Performance of Medical Students in Jos, North Central Nigeria

Exploring relationships between sleep-wake patterns, wellness, burnout, self-efficacy, and academic performance in medical students

Purpose: Morningness and eveningness are terms related to an individual’s sleep-wake pattern. Individuals with a morningness chronotype tend to wake up earlier, are more productive in the daytime, and go to bed earlier while individuals with an eveningness chronotype tend to wake up later, are more productive in the evening hours, and go to sleep later in the night. The purpose of this study was to see if medical students’ sleep-wake patterns correlated to their wellbeing and academic performance. We hypothesized that individuals with morningness chronotypes would report better wellbeing and higher GPAs than individuals with an eveningness chronotype. Another objective of the study was to determine if there were any differences between preclinical (M1) and clinical medical students (M3) in chronotype, levels of burnout, wellness, self-efficacy, and academic performance. We hypothesized that M3 students would have an increased preference for morningness and better overall wellness and academic outcomes compared to the M1 students.[JK1] Methods: Data were collected using an anonymous online survey. The M1 students were administered a 51-question survey in May of their first year while M3 students were administered a 62-question survey in May of their third year consisting of question subsets from multiple validated surveys. Chronotype was determined using the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) survey. Wellness metrics were measured using the CDC Healthy Days Measure, School Burnout Inventory, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). M1 students completed a self-efficacy instrument about academic work and M3 students completed items about self-efficacy for clinical work. Academic performance was measured using cumulative GPA for M1 students and third year GPA for M3 students. The study was exempted by the UCF IRB. Data: Forty M1 students and 25 M3 students completed the survey, totaling 65 total participants. There was no statistically significant difference between M1 and M3 regarding morningness or eveningness chronotypes, allowing us to combine M1 and M3 data to run correlations of chronotype with wellness and academic metrics for all students. Morningness was associated with an increased number of healthy days (p=0.041, R2= 0.254) and a decreased amount of daytime sleepiness (p=0.017, R2= -0.296). Eveningness was correlated with a lower overall GPA (p=0.044, R2=-0.250). The other correlations did not demonstrate any association between chronotypes and the wellness/academic metrics. Conclusion: Morningness chronotypes were associated with an increase in health-related quality of life and a decrease in excessive sleepiness, while eveningness chronotypes were associated with lower GPAs, indicating that morningness may improve certain wellness and academic metrics. No significant associations between chronotypes and burnout or self-efficacy were found. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Student performance and satisfaction in the first iteration of an integrated renal and respiratory systems course in a redesigned one-pass preclinical curriculum

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine converted its legacy two-pass preclinical curriculum to a one-pass organ system-based format and changed the grading system from categorical to pass/fail (&gt;70%). Our objective was to assess first-year medical student (MS1) performance and satisfaction in the first iteration of Organ Systems-2:Renal and Respiratory ( RNR), an 8-week block taught at the end of Year I. RNR integrates the physiology, pathophysiology, infectious diseases, and pharmacology of the renal system (Weeks 1-4) and respiratory system (Weeks 5-8), using reorganized and updated material from legacy Year-I blocks ( General Principles &amp; Infectious Diseases and Structure &amp; Function of Major Organ Systems) and Year-II blocks ( Immunity &amp; Multisystem Disorders and Systems Disorders). Instruction was delivered via didactic lectures, team-based activities, case-based reviews, dry labs, cognitive integration of clinical reasoning (CICR) sessions, and simulations. Formative weekly quizzes and practice exams were assigned before each exam. Learning in the renal physiology, renal pathophysiology, and respiratory physiology units was assessed by instructor-generated exams at the end of Weeks 2, 4 and 6, respectively, and a final customized, comprehensive NBME exam at the end of Week 8. Aggregate performance on instructor-generated renal and respiratory exam questions was compared to that on similar questions from legacy curriculum exams. Aggregate performance on the NBME exam was compared to USMLE Step 1 exam difficulty, as the legacy curriculum did not include a dedicated renal/respiratory NBME exam. Aggregate performance on instructor-generated renal physiology and pathophysiology and respiratory physiology questions was comparable to that in the legacy curriculum. Average performance on the renal portion of the NBME exam was 0.76 vs. Step 1 exam difficulty of 0.78; average performance on the respiratory portion of the exam was 0.77 vs. Step 1 exam difficulty of 0.78. Per end of block survey and student focus group feedback, overall student satisfaction with RNR was 73%. Thus, the first iteration of the integrated organ systems-based renal and respiratory systems course in Year I yielded a MS1 performance on the NBME that was comparable to USMLE Step 1 source difficulty, and student satisfaction was positive overall. More detailed analysis of exam performance is needed. Further modifications of RNR will include additional simulations and flipped-classroom sessions. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Medical student competence in ophthalmology assessed using the Objective Standardized Clinical Examination.

To assess pre-clerkship and clerkship medical student performance in an ophthalmology Objective Standardized Clinical Examination (OSCE) station. One hundred pre-clerkship medical students and 98 clerkship medical students were included in this study. The OSCE station consisted of a common ocular complaint - blurry vision with decreased visual acuity - and students were asked to take an appropriate history, provide two or three differential diagnoses to explain the symptoms, and perform a basic ophthalmic examination. Generally, clerks performed better than pre-clerks in the history taking (P < 0.01) and ophthalmic examination (P < 0.05) sections, with few specific exceptions. In the history-taking section, more pre-clerkship students asked about patient age and past medical history (P < 0.00001) and for the ophthalmic examination, more pre-clerkship students performed the anterior segment examination (P < 0.01). Interestingly, more pre-clerkship students were also able to provide two or three differential diagnoses (P < 0.05), specifically diabetic retinopathy (P < 0.00001) and hypertensive retinopathy (P < 0.00001). The performance of both groups was generally satisfactory; however, many students in both groups had scores that were unsatisfactory. Notably, pre-clerks also outperformed clerks in certain areas, which emphasizes the importance of revisiting ophthalmology content through clerkship. Awareness of such knowledge can allow medical educators to incorporate focused programs into the curriculum.