Purpose
At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, "High-Yield Review" (HYR) sessions are peer sessions used to support students during their pre-clinical years. This study aims to quantitatively assess whether regular attendance at HYR sessions correlates with an increased percentage of correct answers on NBME-style multiple-choice examinations among first-year MD students. We hypothesize that consistent participation in HYR will be positively associated with performance.

Methods
A cohort of 67 first-year MD students was divided into a study group of 26 students who attended a minimum of five HYR sessions, and a control group of 31 students who did not attend any sessions. The attendance threshold was set to exclude sporadic attendance, which might not significantly impact learning. Attendance was tracked using specialized software. Academic performance was gauged through scores on regular curriculum-based examinations to ensure that the assessment was reflective of the standard educational experience.

Results
Analysis revealed a significant difference in the performance on the first basic sciences examination, with the study group showing an average improvement of 4.28% (p = 0.030) over the control group. However, the second examination, which focused on organ systems physiology, did not show a statistically significant difference in scores (p = 0.702), suggesting that the benefit of PRS may be more pronounced in foundational science subjects that require extensive content coverage in a limited time frame.

Conclusion
The study affirms that PRS, such as HYR, are correlated with better academic performance in foundational sciences. The impact of PRS diminishes as the curriculum shifts to more standardized material for which students commonly use various external resources. These findings suggest the need for strategic implementation of PRS in early medical education to enhance learning outcomes where they are most effective. Future studies should investigate the longitudinal quantifiable impact of PRS learning on students and their performance in later stages of education.