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Associations Between Medical School Metrics and Early Pediatric Resident Milestones
Veronica M Gonzalez1, Raymond Parlar-Chun2, Gary Beck Dallaghan1,2,3,4,5,6,7
1is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, McGovern Medical School, UTHealth Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Undergraduate medical education metrics, specifically National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Pediatrics Subject Examination scores and clerkship grades, predict early pediatric residency performance. These undergraduate factors correlate with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Milestones in the first year.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Graduate Medical Education
- Pediatric Residency Training
Background:
- Holistic review is used in residency admissions, but links between undergraduate medical education (UME) metrics and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Milestone performance are not well-established.
- Limited evidence exists on how UME factors predict resident performance in early clinical years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify undergraduate medical education factors associated with early pediatric residency performance.
- To evaluate the predictive value of UME metrics on ACGME Milestone-based performance in pediatrics residents.
Main Methods:
- A multi-institutional retrospective cohort study analyzed data from pediatric residents (2014-2018).
- Collected UME data included USMLE Steps 1 & 2 CK, pediatric clerkship grades, NBME Pediatrics Subject Examination scores, and extracurricular activities.
- Primary outcomes were postgraduate year 1 ACGME midyear Milestone data, analyzed using linear mixed models.
Main Results:
- The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Examination score was significantly associated with all 6 Core Competency Milestones.
- Honors or high pass in the pediatrics clerkship correlated with Milestone performance in Professionalism and Patient Care competencies.
- Of 414 included graduates, Milestone data for 228 residents were analyzed.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric NBME scores and clinical performance grades are associated with first-year pediatric residency Milestone competencies.
- UME academic and clinical performance metrics can predict early resident performance, informing residency selection processes.