Factors associated with student performance on the medical residency test

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the scores of the Progress test, the Skills and Attitude test, and the medical internship are correlated with the medical residency exam performance of students who started medical school at the Federal University of São Paulo in 2009 METHODS: The scores of 684 Progress tests from years 1-6 of medical school, 111 Skills and Attitude exams (5th year), 228 performance coefficients for the 5th and 6th years of internship, and 211 scores on the medical residency exam were analyzed longitudinally. Correlations between scores were assessed by Pearson’s correlation. Factors associated with medical residency scores were analyzed by linear regression. RESULTS: Scores of Progress tests from years 1-6 and the Skills and Attitude test showed at least one moderate and significant correlation with each other. The theoretical exam and final exam scores in the medical residency had a moderate correlation with performance in the internship. The score of the theoretical medical residency exam was associated with performance in internship year 6 (β=0.833; p<0.001), and the final medical residency exam score was associated with the Skills and Attitude score (β=0.587; p<0.001), 5th-year internship score, (β=0.060; p=0.025), and 6th-year Progress test score (β=0.038; p=0.061). CONCLUSIONS: The scores of these tests showed significant correlations. The medical residency exam scores were positively associated with the student’s performance in the internship and on the Skills test, with a tendency for the final medical residency exam score to be associated with the 6th-year Progress test.