Predictors of Student Performance in Foundation Year of Medical School

Abstract

Zain Mirgani, Nisha Shantakumari, Intisar Hassan.

Medical school worldwide adopt different admission criteria. While the high school grades and English proficiency levels are the common criteria for selection, some medical schools use entrance tests or interviews along with other methods to screen the student population.
Keeping in mind the diversity in the educational background of students, these admission criteria need to be evaluated and updated on a regular basis. Admission is granted to the College of Medicine, Ajman University on the basis of English proficiency, SAT scores, high school grades and student performance in an interview. Our study aims to determine any correlation(s) between gender, nationality, English proficiency, SAT scores, high school grades, curriculum type, and students’ scores at the end of the foundation year. Medical terminology course is included in the medical curriculum in a bid to improve the comprehension of students and is likely to have an impact on their performance. We also aim to look at the correlation between the student scores in medical terminology and other subjects in the foundation year of medicine.
A cross‑sectional study design was used. Test scores of 50 students were analyzed at the end of the foundation year. It was found that student gender, nationality and high school grades have no significant correlation with any of the foundation year subjects. However, the type of curriculum followed in high school is found to have significant correlation with the scores in human biology. Medical terminology scores also show significant correlation with the rest of the scores in the semester. Our results also show significant correlations between proficiency in English language and performance in the first semester of foundation year. An important issue is the fact that in the local curriculum all science subjects are delivered in Arabic language These results strongly suggest addressing the issue of English proficiency in countries where English is not the native language.