Alexa Kambol, Medical College of Wisconsin
Molly Falk-Steinmetz, Medical College of Wisconsin
Teresa Patitucci, Medical College of Wisconsin
Chelsea Weaver, Medical College of Wisconsin
Denise Cook-Snyder, Medical College of Wisconsin
Purpose
Over 30 U.S. medical schools report utilizing a pre-matriculation course (PMC) to prepare incoming students for success in medical school. While PMCs are particularly effective for academically disadvantaged students with lower undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores, many PMCs last multiple weeks and cannot fit into compressed academic calendars at other institutions. Here, we determine the efficacy of an accelerated, three-day PMC in the Master’s in Medical Physiology (MMP) program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The MMP program is a one-year special master’s program in which academically disadvantaged students are enrolled in first-year medical school courses alongside medical student peers. We hypothesized that an accelerated PMC would improve MMP student confidence and performance in medical school courses.
Methods
The PMC consisted of daily skills sessions and peer mentoring on time management, study habits, and test-taking. To actively apply these academic skills, students engaged with four hours of medical school lectures and completed a formative quiz on the last day of the course. PMC entrance and exit surveys were used to evaluate self-reported readiness for medical school courses, and subsequent student performance in medical school exams and courses was tracked compared to peers.
Results
On average, MMP students’ confidence in time management, study habits, and test-taking skills increased during the PMC. Moreover, preliminary data suggests the MMP students who completed the PMC have outperformed previous MMP students and are performing at the same level as their current medical student peers despite MMP students averaging lower undergraduate GPAs and MCAT scores than their medical student peers.
Conclusion
Our results are consistent with previous literature suggesting a PMC is an efficacious intervention for increasing student confidence and performance in academic skills before matriculating into medical school courses, regardless of the accelerated three-day time course and even with academically disadvantaged students.