title: The Association Between Premedical Curricular and Admission Requirements and Medical School Performance and Residency Placement: A Study of Two Admission Routes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The curricular elements of undergraduate premedical education are the subject of an ongoing debate. The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (AMS) matriculates students via the traditional premedical route (TPM) and an eight-year baccalaureate/MD program-the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME)-which provides students with a broad and liberal education. Using the juxtaposition of these two admission routes, the authors aimed to determine whether there is an association between highly distinct premedical curricular and admission requirements and medical school performance and residency placement.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cohorts studied included all of the PLME (n = 295) and TPM (n = 215) students who graduated from the AMS between 2010 and 2015. Outcome variables consisted of multiple measures of medical school performance, including standardized multiple-choice examination scores and honors grades, and residency placement. The authors employed unadjusted tests of averages and proportions (independent t tests and chi-square tests) to compare variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The TPM students attained marginally, but statistically significantly, higher average scores on standardized multiple-choice examinations than their PLME counterparts. The number of undergraduate premedical science courses completed by PLME students accounted for less than 4% of the variance in key metrics of medical school performance. The residency placement record of the PLME and TPM cohorts proved comparable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the association between medical school performance and residency placement and undergraduate premedical curricular and admission requirements is weak. Further study is needed to determine the optimal premedical preparation of students.
authors.affiliation: P. George is associate professor of family medicine and associate professor of medical science, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. Y. Soo Park is assistant professor of medical education, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. J. Ip is clinical associate professor of family medicine and associate dean of medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. P.A. Gruppuso is professor of pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. E.Y. Adashi is professor of medical science and former dean of medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Yoon Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Julianne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ip
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gruppuso
authors.forename: Eli Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Adashi
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004516:Education, Premedical; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D012237:Rhode Island; D012570:School Admission Criteria