title: Relationship between student selection criteria and learner success for medical dosimetry students.
abstract: Medical dosimetry education occupies a specialized branch of allied health higher education. Noted international shortages of health care workers, reduced university funding, limitations on faculty staffing, trends in learner attrition, and increased enrollment of nontraditional students force medical dosimetry educational leadership to reevaluate current admission practices. Program officials wish to select medical dosimetry students with the best chances of successful graduation. The purpose of the quantitative ex post facto correlation study was to investigate the relationship between applicant characteristics (cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA), science grade point average (SGPA), prior experience as a radiation therapist, and previous academic degrees) and the successful completion of a medical dosimetry program, as measured by graduation. A key finding from the quantitative study was the statistically significant positive correlation between a student׳s previous degree and his or her successful graduation from the medical dosimetry program. Future research investigations could include a larger research sample, representative of more medical dosimetry student populations, and additional studies concerning the relationship of previous work as a radiation therapist and the effect on success as a medical dosimetry student. Based on the quantitative correlation analysis, medical dosimetry leadership on admissions committees could revise student selection rubrics to place less emphasis on an applicant׳s undergraduate cumulative GPA and increase the weight assigned to previous degrees.
authors.affiliation: Medical Dosimetry Program, School of Health Professions, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center School of Health Professions, Houston, TX. Electronic address: jabaker@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ.
authors.forename: Edilberto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Raynes
authors.affiliation: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aitken
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Allen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011874:Radiometry; D011878:Radiotherapy; D013679:Technology, Radiologic / Q000193:education*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Allied health; Attrition; Higher education; Medical dosimetry; Student retention; Student selection