Is undergraduate performance predictive of postgraduate performance?
BACKGROUND
The continuity of undergraduate to postgraduate training suggests that performance in medical school should predict performance later in residency.


OBJECTIVE
The goal is to determine whether undergraduate performance is predictive of postgraduate performance.


METHODS
Residency program directors assessed the performance of medical school graduates (Classes 2004-2006) at the end of the 1st postgraduate year. Measures of undergraduate performance were retrieved including grade point averages, clerkship in-training evaluation reports, and the total score on the Medical Council of Canada Part 1 exam.


RESULTS
Complete data were available for 242 (81.5%) graduates. Postgraduate performance consisted of two reliable factors (clinical acumen and human sensitivity) that explained 78% of the variance. Correlations between undergraduate and the two postgraduate measures were low (.03-.31).


CONCLUSIONS
Measures of undergraduate performance appear to be poor predictors of performance in residency that consisted of two primary dimensions (clinical acumen and human sensitivity).
Woloschuk
Wayne
W
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. woloschu@ucalgary.ca
McLaughlin
Kevin
K
Wright
Bruce
B
D002170:Canada; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013337:Students, Medical