Factor analysis of the performance at the medical residency exam, progress test and clerkship rotations performance coefficient

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: The relationships between the students’ performance on medical residency exams and progress tests and medical clerkship rotations are not well established. Objective: The objective of this study was to measure the correlations between grades on progress tests and clerkship rotations assessments and the medical residency exam and determine which performance had the strongest correlation with the final medical residency exam. Methods: This was a retrospective and longitudinal study with correlation analyses of grades on progress tests from the 1st to 6th year of medical school, the clerkship rotations performance coefficient (5th and 6th years of school) and the final medical residency exam in a cohort of students enrolled in a federal public medical school using factor analysis. Students who performed the progress tests from the 1st to 6th year were included. Results: Of 123 students enrolled in the first year of medical school in 2009, 114 (92.7%) performed the progress tests during the six years and were included. The average grades on the progress tests from 1 to 10 were 2.67 (1st year), 3.01 (2nd year), 4.19 (3rd year), 4.01 (4th year), 5.19 (5th year), and 6.38 (6th year). The average grades in the clerkship rotations were 8.32 (5th year) and 8.26 (6th year). The average score on the theoretical medical residency exam was 7.53 and the final result of the medical residency exam was 8.05. Factor analysis detected three domains with greater correlation strength that accounted for 76.3% of the model variance. Component 1 was identified as the coefficient of academic performance (CAP) 5th, CAP 6th and final medical residency exam grades, whereas component 2 was constituted by the grades of the 5th and 6th years progress tests and the third component comprised the progress tests of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years. Conclusions: Grades on the progress tests, the clerkship rotations assessments and the final medical residency exam were correlated. Moreover, the performance during the medical clerkship rotations showed the strongest correlations with medical residency exam grades.