Evaluating knowledge retention of third-year medical students taught with an innovative pharmacology program.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the degree of retention of pharmacologic knowledge of third-year medical students taught in a new pharmacology teaching program.


METHODS
In 1997, the authors administered a retention test consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions, each with only one correct answer, to 457 third-year medical students at the National University of Mexico. Students were not told in advance about this diagnostic evaluation, which was given eight months after they completed the second-year pharmacology course. As a comparison, the authors also analyzed the results obtained by the same students in the three partial examinations taken during the second-year pharmacology course. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov procedure and Wilcoxon and chi-square tests were used to analyze data.


RESULTS
The distribution of scores obtained in the partial exams well approximated a symmetrical bell-shaped curve, and the mean score was 59.9%. In contrast, in the retention test the distribution was negatively skewed, the mean score (69.8%) was significantly higher (p <.001), and the curve was clearly displaced to the right of that corresponding to the partial exams. The percentage of students obtaining at least a passing score (60%) was considerably higher for the retention test (82.5 versus 51.9).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings, indicating that medical students taught in a new pharmacology program developed adequate basic pharmacologic knowledge, should encourage other medical schools to formally evaluate their teaching programs and continue efforts to improve pharmacologic education of medical students.
Rodriguez
Rodolfo
R
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Mexico, D.F.
Campos-Sepulveda
Efrain
E
Vidrio
Horacio
H
Contreras
Eusebio
E
Valenzuela
Fermin
F
D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D010600:Pharmacology / Q000193:education*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods