The ability of the multiple mini-interview to predict preclerkship performance in medical school.
OBJECTIVE
One of the greatest challenges continuing to face medical educators is the development of an admissions protocol that provides valid information pertaining to the noncognitive qualities candidates possess. An innovative protocol, the Multiple Mini-Interview, has recently been shown to be feasible, acceptable, and reliable. This article presents a first assessment of the technique's validity.


METHODS
Forty five candidates to the Undergraduate MD program at McMaster University participated in an MMI in Spring 2002 and enrolled in the program the following autumn. Performance on this tool and on the traditional protocol was compared to performance on preclerkship evaluation exercises.


RESULTS
The MMI was the best predictor of objective structured clinical examination performance and grade point average was the most consistent predictor of performance on multiple-choice question examinations of medical knowledge.


CONCLUSIONS
While further validity testing is required, the MMI appears better able to predict preclerkship performance relative to traditional tools designed to assess the noncognitive qualities of applicants.
Eva
Kevin W
KW
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Programme for Educational Research and Development, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. evakw@mcmaster.ca
Reiter
Harold I
HI
Rosenfeld
Jack
J
Norman
Geoffrey R
GR
D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D003071:Cognition; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D011340:Problem Solving; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012577:Schools, Medical