Prospective survey of performance of medical students during preclinical years.

The performance during the preclinical course of 517 students who had applied to this medical school for admission in 1981 and who had been accepted by the school or by another British medical school was analysed in relation to variables measured at the time of application to find factors that predicted success in the preclinical course, whether students chose to take an intercalated degree, and the class achieved in the intercalated degree. Thirty one of the 507 students who entered medical school withdrew from the course or failed their examinations; these students were particularly likely not to have an A level in a biological science. O level grades were of minimal predictive value for performance during the preclinical course. A level grades discriminated between successful and unsuccessful students but had too low a specificity or sensitivity to be of use in individual prediction. Mature entrants performed better overall than school leavers. Background variables accounted for only 14.2% of the variance in performance, implying that motivation and personality may be more important in determining performance. The 80 students who chose to take an intercalated degree were more likely to be men and not to be mature entrants; for a further 50 students intercalated degrees were obligatory. Performance in the intercalated degree related to performance during the preclinical course and to assessments made at the selection interview but not to achievement at O or A level.     

Evaluation of the careers of graduates of the University of Manitoba's BSc (Medicine) program.

The careers of graduates who had taken the BSc (Medicine) (BScMed) program at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, between 1950 and 1975 were compared with those of matched classmate controls to determine whether the program had any influence on the research careers of the graduates. More BScMed graduates than control subjects chose an academic career (49% v. 21%), achieved specialty certification (83% v. 65%), and obtained grants (51% v. 18%) and personal awards (37% v. 18%). The BScMed graduates also had significantly more publications than the control subjects. Although part of the difference between the two groups may be explained by the tendency of students who were more inclined toward an academic career to enter the BScMed program, it was evident that the program has a substantial effect on promoting the development of clinical investigators.     

The correlates of research success.

A survey was carried out of the undergraduate backgrounds and research achievements of 885 (94.1%) of all 940 medically qualified professors and readers in medical faculties in the United Kingdom. A total of 217 (24.5%) of the graduates in these senior academic positions had graduated from Oxford or Cambridge and 137 (15.5%) had an intercalated BSc. The corresponding figures for a control group matched for sex and date of graduation were 118 (13.3%) for Oxford and Cambridge (academic to control odds ratio 2.11:1) and 34 (3.8%) for the BSc (odds ratio 4.58:1). Those with an intercalated BSc in the clinical specialties raised substantially more research grants from the Medical Research Council than their peers from Oxford and Cambridge or those without a BSc. The Oxford and Cambridge group raised more grants in the non-clinical specialties. Bibliometric analysis was carried out on the United Kingdom graduates within the broad specialty of medicine (n = 218) matched for date of graduation. Academics with a BSc had a better publication record over 10 years (median number of original publications 72) than the Oxford and Cambridge group (median 59) and a substantially better record than those from other schools without a BSc (median 46). Citation analysis was carried out on subsets of the above sample matched for date of graduation and frequency of publication. Those with an intercalated BSc were cited more often (8.04 citations/paper) than the Oxford and Cambridge graduates (7.63) and substantially more than their peers without a BSc (4.16). These data show very clearly that research training or experience, or both, as an undergraduate has a substantial influence on career development and correlates positively with subsequent research performance many years later.     

Science PhD career preferences: levels, changes, and advisor encouragement

Even though academic research is often viewed as the preferred career path for PhD trained scientists, most U.S. graduates enter careers in industry, government, or "alternative careers." There has been a growing concern that these career patterns reflect fundamental imbalances between the supply of scientists seeking academic positions and the availability of such positions. However, while government statistics provide insights into realized career transitions, there is little systematic data on scientists' career preferences and thus on the degree to which there is a mismatch between observed career paths and scientists' preferences. Moreover, we lack systematic evidence whether career preferences adjust over the course of the PhD training and to what extent advisors exacerbate imbalances by encouraging their students to pursue academic positions. Based on a national survey of PhD students at tier-one U.S. institutions, we provide insights into the career preferences of junior scientists across the life sciences, physics, and chemistry. We also show that the attractiveness of academic careers decreases significantly over the course of the PhD program, despite the fact that advisors strongly encourage academic careers over non-academic careers. Our data provide an empirical basis for common concerns regarding labor market imbalances. Our results also suggest the need for mechanisms that provide PhD applicants with information that allows them to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of pursuing a PhD, as well as for mechanisms that complement the job market advice advisors give to their current students.     

The objective structured interview for medical student selection

An objective structured interview is an integral part of the process of selecting and admitting applicants to study medicine at this university. During the nine years (to the end of 1986) that the interview has been used 1600 candidates were interviewed out of roughly 13 000 applicants, and from these, 584 students were admitted to the course. Analysis of the interview data was carried out based on two aspects of student progress: graduation with honours and failure to complete the course of study.The interview as a whole, and especially some of the subscales, appears to identify students who may fail to complete the course: it may also help to predict which students are likely to graduate with honours.     

Treatment of specific macrovascular beds in patients with diabetes mellitus

Background

A ubiquitous dilemma in medical education continues to be whether and how to integrate research competencies into the predoctoral curriculum. Understanding research concepts is imbedded in the six core competencies for physicians, but predoctoral medical education typically does not explicitly include research education. In an effort to quickly report academic research findings to the field, this is the second in a series of articles reporting the outcomes of a research education initiative at one college of osteopathic medicine. The first article described the competency model and reported baseline performance in applied understanding of targeted research concepts. This second article reports on the learning outcomes from the inaugural year of a course in basic biomedical research concepts.

Methods

This course consisted of 24 total hours of classroom lectures augmented with web-based materials using Blackboard Vista, faculty moderated student presentations of research articles, and quizzes. To measure changes in applied understanding of targeted research concepts in the inaugural year of the course, we administered a pretest and a posttest to second year students who took the course and to first year students who took an informatics course in the same academic year.

Results

We analyzed 154 matched pretests and posttests representing 56% of the 273 first and second year students. On average, the first year (53) and second year students (101) did not differ in their mean pretest scores. At posttest the second year students showed significant improvement in their applied understanding of the concepts, whereas the first year students' mean posttest score was lower than their mean pretest score.

Conclusions

This biomedical research course appears to have increased the second year students' applied understanding of the targeted biomedical research concepts. This assessment of learning outcomes has facilitated the quality improvement process for the course, and improved our understanding of how to measure the benefits of research education for medical students. Some of the course content and methods, and the outcome measures may need to be approached differently in the future to more effectively lay the foundation for osteopathic medical students to utilize these concepts in the clinical setting.     

Some Observations on Attrition of Students from Canadian Medical Schools

Students who entered their freshman year for the first time in 1958 and in 1959, from all medical schools in Canada, and those entering the four Western schools in 1960 were studied from the time they matriculated until they either graduated or withdrew from medical school. The rate of attrition is about 15% of matriculants each year, with the lowest rate at the University of Western Ontario (1.7%) and the highest at the University of Ottawa (33.6%) over the time period studied. Attrition was classified as academic and non-academic. Significantly higher rates were found in the case of non-academic attrition for women and in the case of academic attrition for Commonwealth students. Significantly higher rates for both types of attrition were found for older students and students who had attended undergraduate colleges different from their medical school colleges. It would appear from available statistics that the factors which combine to produce attrition are the intellectual and personality characteristics of the student, school promotional policies and evaluation methods.     

The Premedical Student: His Identity: Characteristics of a Cohort of Premedical Students at the University of British Columbia

A prospective study is currently being conducted of students who were freshmen at the University of British Columbia in 1961-1962. Three cohorts are being followed: 136 premedical students, 107 science students, and 136 persons comprising a sample of general arts students. At registration in 1961, the only demographic difference was that the Premedical cohort had a greater proportion of catholics and persons from upper occupational classes. Premedical students generally performed as well in high school as science students and better than general arts students, though the academic potential of science students as measured by achievement and aptitude tests was superior. Premedical students performed better on freshman examinations than the other cohorts, though a significantly larger proportion of science students (84.4%) actually passed into second year than of premedical students (75.0%). A disturbing observation was that by second year the Science cohort had recruited more than enough students to balance its losses, while the Premedical cohort had lost three times as many students as it recruited. The net effect was not much reduced by students who entered directly from senior matriculation or other universities, since these students were about twice as likely to enter the Science cohort as they were to enter the Premedical cohort.     

Counselling needs and experience of junior hospital doctors.

A sample of 106 senior house officers who had graduated from Nottingham University in 1987 was surveyed about their experience of and need for careers guidance, performance appraisal, and stress counselling. Of the 80 who replied, a quarter had received no careers guidance and a quarter no feedback about their work performance. Many reported having had difficulties in their post, but few had received help from senior staff or their consultant. The perceived needs for counselling were considerable. Careers counselling was thought to be essential in the preregistration year by all of the doctors and in senior house officer posts by three quarters. Nearly all would have chosen regular appraisal and nearly half wanted counselling for particular difficulties. Doctors in the training grades clearly believed that they needed counselling, but in most cases they did not receive it.     

International student exchange and the medical curriculum: evaluation of a medical sciences translational physiology course in Brazil

The objective of the present study was to conduct a short-term international course on translational physiology for medical students from Wright State University and the University of Iowa. The goals were to 1) provide students with an exposure to the academic, cultural, and medical environments in Brazil; 2) promote awareness of the global medical community; and 3) provide an academic course focused on translational physiology. An evaluation of the students was conducted to determine whether such a short-term course might be useful in the medical curriculum. The 2-wk course was held in the summer of 2005 at the University of S?o Paulo School of Medicine in Ribeir?o Preto, Brazil, for 23 American students. The program included presentations of basic and clinical topics, meetings with medical students, and clinical presentations. The program finished with student attendance at a scientific meeting sponsored by the Brazilian Society of Hypertension. Student surveys evaluated issues related to perceived treatment, Brazilian medical school environment, culture and personal attributes, and career aspirations. The international Medical Sciences Translational Physiology course for medical students provided a brief, but intense, experience. It gave students a picture of the medical environment in Brazil and an appreciation for the differences and similarities in cultures. Most students reported that it was a positive experience that would be beneficial to their careers. In conclusion, a short-term international course provides an efficient means for medical students to experience aspects of global medical science.     

Lack of impact of undergraduate genetic courses on the teaching of medical genetics.

The impact of undergraduate genetic courses on the academic performance of first-year medical students in the medical genetics course at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was evaluated over a period of 9 years. Comparisons were made between medical students who had taken a formal undergraduate course in genetics and those who had not. Little if any differences were found in the academic performance in the medical genetics course between these two groups of students. Perhaps the design of undergraduate courses in genetics should be re-evaluated to give more depth to the medical student's preparation for appreciating the significance of genetics in normal and abnormal human variation.     

Get that next job—how to break out of the postdoc trap

In the past, the majority of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers were focused on careers in academia. Times have changed, and many are now considering careers outside of academia and are aware of numerous exciting career opportunities in industry and nonprofit and government organizations. However, although it is easy to find resources about academic careers, the same cannot be said for positions outside the ivory tower. Here, on the basis of my experience as a scientist and as someone who works with graduate students and postdocs to help them enter nonacademic career paths, I provide a perspective on career development and how to find a job.     

Change of cardiodynamic parameters and the heart rhythm in students under influence of the academic load

Dynamics psychological and cadriohemodynamical parameters and activity regulators mechanisms of a rhythm of heart of students in current of academic year is studied. It is shown, that process of adaptation of students to an academic load is accompanied by the periods of recession and a pressure parameters of hemodynamic, activity regulators mechanisms of a rhythm of heart and parameters of state of health, activity and mood. The periods of the highest pressure of physiological systems of an organism of students are the beginning of the first semester and the examination period. The adaptive changes of investigated parameters occurred in the course the academic year.     

Molecular Diagnostics — an upper division/graduate course

We have developed a course in Molecular Diagnostics suitable as an upper division/Master’s level elective class for Biology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry majors who have already been introduced to basic genetics and molecular biology. The course provides an intensive hands-on laboratory experience in current molecular techniques for disease diagnosis coupled with lecture on major biological topics and concepts underlying disease and disease processes. Its structure and content make the course appropriate not only for students who envision careers in molecular diagnosis, but also for those aspiring to the teaching, research, or medical professions.     

Students’ Perceptions of Peer-Organized Extra-Curricular Research Course during Medical School: A Qualitative Study

Early integration of research education into medical curricula is crucial for evidence-based practice. Yet, many medical students are graduating with no research experience due to the lack of such integration in their medical school programs. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a peer-organized, extra-curricular research methodology course on the attitudes of medical students towards research and future academic careers. Twenty one medical students who participated in a peer-organized research course were enrolled in three focus group discussions to explore their experiences, perceptions and attitudes towards research after the course. Discussions were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide, and were transcribed and thematically analyzed for major and minor themes identification. Our findings indicate that students’ perceptions of research changed after the course from being difficult initially to becoming possible. Participants felt that their research skills and critical thinking were enhanced and that they would develop research proposals and abstracts successfully. Students praised the peer-assisted teaching approach as being successful in enhancing the learning environment and filling the curricular gap. In conclusion, peer-organized extra-curricular research courses may be a useful option to promote research interest and skills of medical students when gaps in research education in medical curricula exist.     

Significance of Literacy in the Performance of Students in the First Year of the Nottingham Medical Course

The “literacy” of a fresh intake of medical students as measured by standardized vocabulary tests has been measured and correlated with examination performance during the first year. Although most students lacked an upper social class upbringing, medical parents, or a classical education, the group performed to a high standard in the tests, comparable with an English honours intake. On the other hand, there appears to be no correlation between an extensive working vocabulary and the ability to perform well in any aspect of the course, apart from the community studies. A qualification in Latin confers no advantage at all on the aspiring doctor.     

What is the optimum duration of an asynchronous distance learning course?

An online, lecture/laboratory course in Human Physiology was run in two sections in five consecutive summers. In each year, the two sections were identical in content, assignments, and assessments but were different in duration; the shorter section was 1 mo and the longer section lasted 2 mo. The shorter section had a higher enrollment and a higher attrition rate. A postcourse survey revealed that the majority of the students in the shorter course believed that they would have spent more time studying and would have received a better grade had they taken the longer class. Interestingly, in any one year, there was no significant difference between the mean final grades earned by students in the two sections and by males and females. All students who completed the longer section and the majority of students in the shorter section of the course stated that they would recommend the longer class to a friend who was committed to taking this online course.     

Characteristics of medical students who choose primary care as a career: the McMaster experience.

We examined the relation between demographic characteristics and the career choices of medical students who entered McMaster University medical school between 1969 and 1975. In contrast to earlier work, this study found no significant differences in sex, age, marital status at the time of entry into medical school, undergraduate major, whether prerequisite premedical courses had been taken, undergraduate grade point average and academic performance between the graduates who chose primary care and those who chose a specialty. This suggests that many medical school graduates in the 1970s entered primary care by choice rather than by default.     

Career and training patterns of students entering Canadian medical schools in 1965.

This paper follows the careers of the 1128 students who entered Canadian medical schools in 1965, most of whom graduated in 1969. The type of career pursued (whether general or specialty practice or some combination thereof), the type of specialty undertaken, the place of internship and residency training and the 1973 practice location of the graduates are examined. The wide variation in careers followed by the 12 schools'' graduates provides the major focus of the paper.     

A project-based approach to the use of biological literature

A course is described which has been designed to increase students' ability and willingness to use and read the scientific literature, and ultimately to enable them to make their own contributions to the literature in an acceptable style and format. The objectives and methods of the course differ from those of traditional library-use courses by concentrating on making students read and evaluate the literature rather than on information retrieval per se. Reactions have been favourable. Students make more and better use of the literature and the standard of presentation of written work has improved. The work habits generated by the course assist students throughout their academic careers. The course may have considerable implications for other library user-education programmes.