[Impact of training conferences on medical student's performance for the French National Ranking Examination in...

To describe factors associated with a better rank, and to assess the impact of training conferences on medical student's performance for the French National Ranking Examination (FNRE) in Lorraine University, France in 2012.

Between October 2011 and May 2012, assistant professors of the faculty of medicine of Nancy, France, organized a cycle of 15 conferences combining clinical cases theoretical training and student peer assessment. Data were recorded with a self-administered questionnaire in January 2012 to collect potential confounders.

Among 287 students enrolled in the last year of medical school in 2011-2012 in Lorraine University, 195 (67.9%) of them registered to the cycle of conferences. Among the potential prognostic factors assessed, not repeating the first year of medical curriculum (P=0.013), the number of courses validated at the first session during the second part of the medical curriculum (P=0.002), absence of difficulties experienced in the fifth and sixth year (P=0.032) and a desired ranking among the best (P=0.011) were independently associated with a better rank at the FNRE. Regular participation in conferences was significantly and independently associated with a higher ranking (mean gain for the participation in 13 or more conferences: 873; mean gain by conference: 63).

Regular participation in conferences provided by assistant professors and based on clinical cases theoretical training and student peer assessment was significantly associated with a higher ranking to the FNRE in Lorraine University in 2012.