%0 Journal Article
%T Medical students who decompress during the M-1 year outperform those who fail and repeat it: A study of M-1 students at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign 1988¨C2000
%A Susan M Kies
%A Gregory G Freund
%J BMC Medical Education
%D 2005
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6920-5-18
%X The authors reviewed the performance of M-1 students in the Decompressed Program and compared their outcomes to M-1 students who failed and fully repeated the M-1 year. To compare the groups upon admission, t-Tests comparing the Cognitive Index of students and MCAT scores from both groups were performed. Performance of the two groups after matriculation was also analyzed.Decompressed students were 2.1 times more likely to graduate. Decompressed students were 2.5 times more likely to pass USMLE Step 1 on the first attempt than the repeat students. In addition, 46% of those in the decompressed group completed the program in five years compared to 18% of the repeat group.Medical students who decompress their M-1 year prior to M-1 year failure outperform those who fail their first year and then repeat it. These findings indicate the need for careful monitoring of M-1 student performance and early intervention and counseling of struggling students.All medical schools are faced with poor performing M-1 students. The challenge is to encourage these students to take remedial programs that address their academic problems and assist them in becoming high performing physicians. During Academic Year 2001¨C2002, the LCME reported that 47 schools employed an Extended Time or Decompressed Program to assist poor performers [1]. Despite this widespread use of decompressed programs, little outcome information is reported in the literature.In reviewing the literature, few outcome studies regarding remedial programs were found. Most articles discuss predictive measures of academic success in medical school, including both cognitive and non-cognitive variables that can assist admission committees to choose those students most likely to achieve well in medical school, while at the same time, steering committees away from admitting students likely to fail. Study results have provided medical school admission committees with data to apply to their admission policies and procedures [2-11]. P
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/5/18