Educational Achievement in Medical Students Entered University between 1995 and 2003 Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Haghdoost, Ali-Akbar; Esmaeili, Aryan

Educational Achievement in Medical Students Entered University between 1995 and 2003 Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ali-Akbar Haghdoost ¹

Aryan Esmaeili ²

¹ General Practitioner & Epidemiologist, Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Biostatistics Dept. and Physiology Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

² General Practitioner, Researcher in Education Development Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Abstract

Background & Objective : Assessing students grades in their courses and in national comprehensive exams may help us in the assessment of educational status of different departments indirectly In this study the internal consistency of medical students scores in Kerman University of Medical Sciences was assessed Methods : In a historical cohort study students grades and other information for entrance years between 1995 and 2003 were extracted from the central admission office and 10 indicators for educational achievement were defined for each student Having used Cronbachs alpha and linear regression we checked the internal consistency of scores Also we used factorial analysis and related graphs (Dendrogram) to evaluate the consistency between factors of students educational achievement Results : Females were more successful in all series of students except for national comprehensive exams Although internal consistency in males scores was more than females males scores in specific courses of basic sciences were more related to the scores of their basic sciences comprehensive exams In addition internal consistency in males scores was more than females especially in clinical courses Higher age at entering university could cause a decrease in educational success Students grades in various courses had slight consistency with national comprehensive exams Moreover the internal consistency of scores during clerkship and internship were significantly lower than the other phases Conclusion : Lower consistency of scores in clinical courses may imply lower validity of these scores Unlike higher educational success in females it seems that stability in males scores was greater in most indicators

Keywords

Educational achievement

Internal consistency

Educational success evaluation

Medical student of Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Stone SL, Qualters DM. Course-based assessment: Implementing outcome assessment in medical education. Acad Med 1998; 73(4): 397- 401.
Panahandeh Z, Behboudi F. Predictive validity of the performance comprehensive basic science examination means score for assessment of medical student’s performance. IJME 2002; 1(8): 43. [In Persian]
Javadi M. Assesment of the results of basic science exams of medical students in Qazvin University. Journal of Qazvin University of Medical Science 2001; 18: 69-70. [In Persian]
Emami SMH, Rasoolinejad M, Changiz T, Afshin nia F, Zolfaghari B, Adibi P. Interns' view about basic medical sciences: Their knowledge and attitude to national comprehensive exam and basic medical courses in Isfahan university of medical sciences. IJME 2001; 1(1): 3-20.[In Persian]
Haghdoost AA, Esmaeili A. Internal consistency of medical students’ scores in general and basic science Exams, Kerman University, Iran. Journal of Medical Education 2006; 9(1): 3-10.
Haghdoost AA, Esmaeili A. The Correlation between medical students' scores in their physiopathology and clinical courses, Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Journal of Medical Education 2006; 10(1): 11-7.
Bienstock JL, Martin S, Tzou W, Fox HE. Medical students' gender is a predictor of success in the obstetrics and gynecology basic clerkship. Teach Learn Med 2002; 14: 240-3.
Buddeberg-Fischer B, Klaghofer R, Abel T, Buddeberg C. The influence of gender and personality traits on the career planning of Swiss medical students. Swiss Med Wkly 2003; 133: 535-40.
Smits PB, Verbeek JH, Nauta MC, Ten Cate TJ, Metz JC, van Dijk FJ. Factors predictive of successful learning in postgraduate medical education. Med Educ 2004; 38(7): 758-66.
De Saintonge DM, Dunn DM. Gender and achievement in clinical medical students: A path analysis. Med Educ 2001; 35(11): 1024-33.
Dawson B, Iwamoto CK, Ross LP, Nungester RJ, Swanson DB, Volle RL. Performance on the national board of medical examiners. Part I examination by men and women of different race and ethnicity. JAMA 1994; 272(9): 674-9.
Frischenschlager O, Haidinger G, Mitterauer L. Factors associated with academic success at Vienna Medical School: Prospective survey. Croat Med J 2005; 46(1): 58-65.
Cumplido-Hernandez G, CamposArciniega MF, Chavez-Lopez A, PerezGarcia V. Learning approaches used by undergraduate interns in the development of a medical specialty. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc 2006; 44(4): 321-8.
McGaghie WC, Richards BF, Petrusa ER, Camp M, Harward DH, Smith AS, et al. Development of a measure of medical faculty attitudes toward clinical evaluation of students. Acad Med 1995; 70(1): 47-51.
Durning SJ, Pangaro LN, Lawrence LL, Waechter D, McManigle J, Jackson JL. The feasibility, reliability, and validity of a program director's (supervisor's) evaluation form for medical school graduates. Acad Med 2005; 80(10): 964-8.
Andriole DA, Jeffe DB, Whelan AJ. What predicts surgical internship performance? Am J Surg 2004; 188(2): 161- 4.
Pearson SA, Rolfe IE, Henry RL. The relationship between assessment measures at Newcastle Medical School (Australia) and performance ratings during internship. Med Educ 1998; 32(1): 40-5.