A Longitudinal Study of Commonly Used Admissions Measures and Disenrollment from Medical School and Graduate Medical Education Probation or Termination from Training.

Introduction: This is an empirical study to better understand commonly used medical school admission measures and disenrollment decisions during undergraduate medical education as well as graduate medical education (GME) probation or termination decisions. Materials and Methods: Based on the data of USUHS medical students matriculating between 1998 and 2011 (N = 2,460), we compared medical school graduates and those disenrolled from medical school on MCAT scores, undergraduate BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) GPA, and undergraduate overall GPA. We also reported more specific reasons for disenrollment decisions. Next, we compared the students who were referred to the student promotion committee (SPC) with other students on these measures. Moving onto GME, we compared trainees who were put on probation or terminated from training with those who were not on MCAT and undergraduate GPA measures. In addition, we examined the association between being referred to the SPC and GME probation or termination. Results: There were 2,347 graduates and 113 disenrolled students from medical school (4.8%). For the disenrolled students, 43 (38.7%) students were disenrolled for exclusively (or primarily) non-academic reasons, and 68 (61.3%) were disenrolled for exclusively (or primarily) academic reasons. The t-tests showed statistically significant differences on the MCAT score of the first attempt (t(2,449) = 7.22, P < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.70), average MCAT score (t(2,449) = 4.22, P < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.41), and highest MCAT score (t(2,449) = 3.51, P < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.34). Logistic regression model selection also revealed that the best predictor for disenrollment was the first MCAT score (exp(b) = 0.83, 95% CI = (0.78, 0.88)). No significant differences on these measures were found from the group comparisons on SPC and GME probation or termination. There was no significant association between SPC appearance and GME probation or termination. Conclusions: Academic difficulties, especially in the basic sciences, appear to be the most common factor for disenrollment from medical school. These students also had lower MCAT scores, particularly on the first attempt. The MCAT performance indicators and undergraduate GPA were consistently lower, but not statistically significant, for those who appeared before SPC or were put on probation or terminated from training during GME.

Borrow or Serve? An Economic Analysis of Options for Financing a Medical School Education.

PURPOSE: To understand the long-term economic implications of key pathways for financing a medical school education. METHOD: The authors calculated the net present value (NPV) of cash flow over a 30-year career for a 2013 matriculant associated with (1) self-financing, (2) federally guaranteed loans, (3) the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, (4) the National Health Service Corps, (5) the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program, and (6) matriculation at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. They calculated the NPV for students pursuing one of four specialties in two cities with divergent tax policies. Borrowers were assumed to have a median level of debt ($180,000), and conservative projections of inflation, discount rates, and income growth were employed. Sensitivity analyses examined different discount and income growth rates, alternative repayment strategies, and various lengths of public-sector service by scholarship recipients. RESULTS: For those wealthy enough to pay cash or fortunate enough to secure a no-strings scholarship, self-financing produced the highest NPV in almost every scenario. Borrowers start practice $300,000 to $400,000 behind their peers who secure a national service scholarship, but those who enter a highly paid specialty, such as orthopedic surgery, overtake their national service counterparts 4 to 11 years after residency. Those in lower-paid specialties take much longer. Borrowers who enter primary care never close the gap. CONCLUSIONS: Over time, the value of a medical degree offsets the high up-front cost. Debt avoidance confers substantial economic benefits, particularly for students interested in primary care.

The failure to fail underperforming trainees in health professions education: A BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 42.

BACKGROUND: Many clinical educators feel unprepared and/or unwilling to report unsatisfactory trainee performance. This systematic review consolidates knowledge from medical, nursing, and dental literature on the experiences and perceptions of evaluators or assessors with this failure to fail phenomenon. METHODS: We searched the English language literature in CINAHL, EMBASE, and MEDLINE from January 2005 to January 2015. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included. Following our review protocol, registered with BEME, reviewers worked in pairs to identify relevant articles. The investigators participated in thematic analysis of the qualitative data reported in these studies. Through several cycles of analysis, discussion and reflection, the team identified the barriers and enablers to failing a trainee. RESULTS: From 5330 articles, we included 28 publications in the review. The barriers identified were (1) assessor's professional considerations, (2) assessor's personal considerations, (3) trainee related considerations, (4) unsatisfactory evaluator development and evaluation tools, (5) institutional culture and (6) consideration of available remediation for the trainee. The enablers identified were: (1) duty to patients, to society, and to the profession, (2) institutional support such as backing a failing evaluation, support from colleagues, evaluator development, and strong assessment systems, and (3) opportunities for students after failing. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: The inhibiting and enabling factors to failing an underperforming trainee were common across the professions included in this study, across the 10 years of data, and across the educational continuum. We suggest that these results can inform efforts aimed at addressing the failure to fail problem.

Novel noninvasive anthropometric measure in preterm and full-term infants: normative values for waist circumference:length ratio at birth.

BACKGROUND: Waist circumference:length ratio (WLR) and ponderal index (PI) appear to be useful markers of visceral and total adiposity, respectively. However, there are no normative birth data across the full range of gestational ages. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study of 500 preterm and 1,426 full-term infants, born in 1998 and 2008 at three military hospitals, the percentile growth curves for WLR and PI were calculated. There were no sex differences, and results were combined to obtain values from 26 to 42 wk gestation. RESULTS: Between 26 and 42 wk gestation, median birth WLR increased from 0.55 to 0.62, and median PI increased from 21.1 to 25.6. The adjusted mean WLR at birth among infants born <34 wk increased from 0.55 in 1998 to 0.58 in 2008 (P = 0.048), suggesting that early-preterm infants born in 2008 had greater abdominal adiposity than those born in 1998. CONCLUSION: We report normative birth data for WLR and PI in preterm and full-term infants by gestational age and sex. WLR and PI may be useful as clinical markers of visceral and overall adiposity. In conjunction with other anthropometric measures, WLR and PI may be useful to monitor postnatal nutrition and growth and assess risk for later obesity and cardiometabolic disorders.

Preterm infants of lower gestational age at birth have greater waist circumference-length ratio and ponderal index at term age than preterm infants of higher gestational ages.

OBJECTIVE: To assess anthropometric changes from birth to hospital discharge in infants born preterm and compare with a reference birth cohort of infants born full-term. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review was conducted of 501 preterm and 1423 full-term infants. We evaluated birth and hospital discharge weight, length, and waist circumference (WC). WC/length ratio (WLR), ponderal index, and body mass index (BMI) were calculated. Preterm infants were categorized into quartiles (Q1-4) based on birth weight (BW). RESULTS: At birth mean length, WC, WLR, BMI, and ponderal index were all significantly less for preterm infants in the lowest BW quartile (Q1) than preterm infants in higher BW quartiles or full-term infants. Although their weight, length, and BMI remained significantly less at discharge, preterm infants in Q1 had a disproportionate increase in WLR and ponderal index such that at discharge their WLR and ponderal index were greater than infants in Q2-3 and comparable with infants in Q4 and full-term infants. Discharge WLR and ponderal index in Q1 were significantly higher with decreasing postmenstrual age at birth. CONCLUSIONS: Preterm infants of a lower birth postmenstrual age have disproportionate increases in WLR and ponderal index that are suggestive of increased visceral and total adiposity.

Group B streptococcal phospholipid causes pulmonary hypertension.

Group B Streptococcus is the most common cause of bacterial infection in the newborn. Infection in many cases causes persistent pulmonary hypertension, which impairs gas exchange in the lung. We purified the bacterial components causing pulmonary hypertension and identified them as cardiolipin and phosphatidylglycerol. Synthetic cardiolipin or phosphatidylglycerol also induced pulmonary hypertension in lambs. The recognition that bacterial phospholipids may cause pulmonary hypertension in newborns with Group B streptococcal infection opens new avenues for therapeutic intervention.