PMID- 19948693
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20100317
LR  - 20091201
IS  - 1945-1997 (Electronic)
IS  - 0098-6151 (Linking)
VI  - 109
IP  - 11
DP  - 2009 Nov
TI  - Student performance on levels 1 and 2-CE of COMLEX-USA: do elective upper-level 
      undergraduate science courses matter?
PG  - 592-8
AB  - CONTEXT: The effect of a variety of preadmission variables, including the number 
      of elective preadmission upper-level science courses, on academic achievement is 
      not well established. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between number 
      of preadmission variables and overall student academic achievement in osteopathic 
      medical school. METHODS: Academic records of osteopathic medical students in the 
      2008 and 2009 graduating classes of Western University of Health Sciences College 
      of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, California, were analyzed. 
      Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of 
      academic achievement based on Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) subscores, 
      undergraduate grade point average (GPA), GPA in medical school basic science 
      (preclinical GPA) and clinical clerkship (clinical GPA), and scores on the 
      Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) Level 1 
      and Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (CE). RESULTS: Records of 358 osteopathic 
      medical students were evaluated. Analysis of beta coefficients suggested that 
      undergraduate science GPA was the most important predictor of overall student 
      academic achievement (P<.01). Biological sciences MCAT subscore was a more modest 
      but still statistically significant predictor of preclinical GPA and COMLEX-USA 
      Level 1 score (P<.01). Physical sciences MCAT subscore was also a statistically 
      significant predictor of preclinical GPA, and verbal reasoning MCAT subscore was 
      a statistically significant predictor of COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE score (both 
      P<.01). Women had statistically significantly higher preclinical GPA and 
      COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE scores than men (P<.05). Differences in some outcome 
      variables were also associated with racial-ethnic background and age. Number of 
      preadmission elective upper-level science courses taken by students before 
      matriculation was not significantly correlated with any academic achievement 
      variable. CONCLUSION: Although undergraduate science GPA and MCAT biological 
      sciences subscore were significant predictors of overall academic achievement for 
      osteopathic medical students, the number of elective upper-level science courses 
      taken preadmission had no predictive value.
FAU - Wong, Stanley K
AU  - Wong SK
AD  - Department of Basic Science, Western University of Health Sciences College of 
      Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, 309 E Second St, Pomona, CA 91766-1854, USA. 
      swong@westernu.edu
FAU - Ramirez, Juan R
AU  - Ramirez JR
FAU - Helf, Scott C
AU  - Helf SC
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - J Am Osteopath Assoc
JT  - The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association
JID - 7503065
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - California
MH  - College Admission Test
MH  - *Curriculum
MH  - Data Collection
MH  - *Educational Measurement
MH  - Educational Status
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Linear Models
MH  - Male
MH  - Multivariate Analysis
MH  - Osteopathic Medicine/education/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - *School Admission Criteria
MH  - Science/*education
MH  - Statistics as Topic
MH  - *Students, Medical
MH  - United States
EDAT- 2009/12/02 06:00
MHDA- 2010/03/18 06:00
CRDT- 2009/12/02 06:00
PHST- 2009/12/02 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2009/12/02 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2010/03/18 06:00 [medline]
AID - 109/11/592 [pii]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2009 Nov;109(11):592-8.