Reexamination of relationships between students' undergraduate majors, medical school performances, and career plans at Jefferson Medical College.
Publication/Presentation Date
8-1-1991
Abstract
A reexamination of the possible relationships between medical students' undergraduate academic majors and their medical school performances and career plans seems appropriate, given the continuing changes in the characteristics of the medical school applicant pool in the last several years. This study investigated these relationships by comparing cognitive and noncognitive characteristics of medical students who had had different undergraduate majors. The study sample consisted of 812 students who entered Jefferson Medical College between 1985 and 1988. They were classified into six categories based on their undergraduate majors: biological, chemical and physical, social and behavioral, other sciences, humanities and arts, and indeterminate majors. Results indicated that performances in the basic science component of medical education were about the same for students with different undergraduate majors. The groups had similar rates of delayed graduation, but the attrition rate was highest for students who had majored in humanities and arts. The students in undergraduate disciplines traditionally oriented toward medicine (biological, physical, and chemical sciences) were younger and had made the decision to become a physician at earlier ages than had their counterparts with undergraduate majors in social sciences and humanities. Also, the groups differed with regard to their estimates of their future incomes and plans for professional activities after graduation. Similarities concerning the students' preferred professional activities were also noticed among the groups.
Volume
66
Issue
8
First Page
458
Last Page
464
ISSN
1040-2446
Published In/Presented At
Ashikawa, H., Hojat, M., Zeleznik, C., & Gonnella, J. S. (1991). Reexamination of relationships between students' undergraduate majors, medical school performances, and career plans at Jefferson Medical College. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 66(8), 458–464. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199108000-00009
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
1883430
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article