Med Teach. 2016 Aug;38(8):844-9. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2015.1132410. Epub 2016 Jan 25.
Narrative information obtained during student selection predicts problematic study behavior.
Medical teacher
Mirjam G A Oude Egbrink, Lambert W T Schuwirth
Affiliations
Affiliations
- a Maastricht University , The Netherlands.
PMID: 26805655
DOI: 10.3109/0142159X.2015.1132410
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Up to now, student selection for medical schools is merely used to decide which applicants will be admitted. We investigated whether narrative information obtained during multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) can also be used to predict problematic study behavior.
METHODS: A retrospective exploratory study was performed on students who were selected into a four-year research master's program Physician-Clinical Investigator in 2007 and 2008 (n = 60). First, counselors were asked for the most prevalent non-cognitive problems among their students. Second, MMI notes were analyzed to identify potential indicators for these problems. Third, a case-control study was performed to investigate the association between students exhibiting the non-cognitive problems and the presence of indicators for these problems in their MMI notes.
RESULTS: The most prevalent non-cognitive problems concerned planning and self-reflection. Potential indicators for these problems were identified in randomly chosen MMI notes. The case-control analysis demonstrated a significant association between indicators in the notes and actual planning problems (odds ratio: 9.33, p = 0.003). No such evidence was found for self-reflection-related problems (odds ratio: 1.39, p = 0.68).
CONCLUSIONS: Narrative information obtained during MMIs contains predictive indicators for planning-related problems during study. This information would be useful for early identification of students-at-risk, which would enable focused counseling and interventions to improve their academic achievement.
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