title: Does emotional intelligence at medical school admission predict future academic performance?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Medical school admissions committees are increasingly considering noncognitive measures like emotional intelligence (EI) in evaluating potential applicants. This study explored whether scores on an EI abilities test at admissions predicted future academic performance in medical school to determine whether EI could be used in making admissions decisions.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors invited all University of Ottawa medical school applicants offered an interview in 2006 and 2007 to complete the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso EI Test (MSCEIT) at the time of their interview (105 and 101, respectively), then again at matriculation (120 and 106, respectively). To determine predictive validity, they correlated MSCEIT scores to scores on written examinations and objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) administered during the four-year program. They also correlated MSCEIT scores to the number of nominations for excellence in clinical performance and failures recorded over the four years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The authors found no significant correlations between MSCEIT scores and written examination scores or number of failures. The correlations between MSCEIT scores and total OSCE scores ranged from 0.01 to 0.35; only MSCEIT scores at matriculation and OSCE year 4 scores for the 2007 cohort were significantly correlated. Correlations between MSCEIT scores and clinical nominations were low (range 0.12-0.28); only the correlation between MSCEIT scores at matriculation and number of clinical nominations for the 2007 cohort were statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EI, as measured by an abilities test at admissions, does not appear to reliably predict future academic performance. Future studies should define the role of EI in admissions decisions.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Humphrey-Murto is associate professor, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Leddy is associate professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Wood is a PhD researcher, Academy for Innovation in Medical Education, and assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Puddester is associate professor and lead, Postgraduate Evaluation and Innovation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, and director of physician health, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is also president, Canadian Association of Medical Education, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Moineau is associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, secretary, Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools and Committee on Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education, and president and chief executive officer, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Humphrey-Murto
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Leddy
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Puddester
authors.forename: Geneviève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moineau
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012577:Schools, Medical; D055815:Young Adult