title: Exploring the relationship between self-reported research experience and performance in medical school and internship.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between self-reported research experience and medical students' performance in medical school and internship.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected data from seven year-groups (1993-1999; N = 1,112) and examined 7 performance outcomes: medical school preclinical grade point average (GPA), medical school clinical GPA, cumulative medical school GPA, U.S. Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and 2 scores, and scores on a previously validated program director's survey of intern professionalism and expertise. We then conducted a series of multiple linear regressions to determine the relations between self-reported research experience and our seven outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When compared to those who reported no prior research experience, students who reported research experience performed significantly better on U.S. Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and had a higher medical school preclinical GPA. However, these same students scored significantly lower on intern professionalism and expertise ratings. Self-reported research experience did not show statistically significant correlations with the other outcome variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results from our large, multiyear, cohort study suggest that prior research experience may account for some variance in outcomes in the early stages of medical school education, but that variance explained diminishes considerably as trainees progress into the more senior phases of education. On the other hand, prior research experience may be negatively related to students' performance in internship. In all cases, however, effect sizes are small.
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Durning
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Gilliland
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Waechter
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Cruess
authors.forename: Kent J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: DeZee
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calloway
authors.forename: Anthony R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Artino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D035843:Biomedical Research; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012577:Schools, Medical; D057566:Self Report; D013337:Students, Medical; D055815:Young Adult