Characteristics of medical students completing an honors program in pathology

The Honors Program in pathology at Jefferson Medical College provides a vol untary enrichment opportunity for students who have demonstrated a superior ability to cope with the pathology curriculum and who rank in the upper fi fth of their class. This study was performed to determine whether honor stu dents possess cognitive and psychosocial attributes that distinguish them f rom their classmates. Students from five academic pars (entering classes 19 91 to 1995) were divided into 3 groups: (1) those who completed the Honors Program (n = 85), (2) those in the top 20% of the class who were offered th e option but chose not to participate in the Honors Program in = 128), and (3) students who did not qualify for the program (n = 953). Comparisons bet ween these three groups were made on the basis of selected measures of acad emic achievement retrieved from the Jefferson Longitudinal Study database a nd psychosocial data obtained from a questionnaire completed during the fir st-year orientation. Students who completed the Honors Program in pathology had scored higher on the physical science section of the Medical College A dmission Test (MCAT) and had obtained higher first-year grade point average s than students in both of the other groups. Subsequently, they attained hi gher second-year grade point averages and scored higher on Step 1 and Step 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), compared with their peers in the other groups. There were no significant differences in psychosocial measures between honor students and the rest of the cohort (gr oup 3). However, students in the top 20% of the class who declined the invi tation to participate in the Honors Program (group 2) showed higher scores on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Eysenck Emotional instability (Neuroticism) Scale than did their classmates. Despite these differences, s tudents who completed the Honors Program (group 1) and eligible students wh o declined participation (group 2) selected similar pathways of postgraduat e residency training: both groups preferred internal medicine to family pra ctice, and both were more likely than the rest of the cohort to begin resid ency training at a top-ranked academic/research medical center. Voluntary p articipation in an Honors Program is a self-selection system that identifie s students who are most likely to succeed academically at the highest level s. Residency selection committees may wish to pay close attention to studen t involvement in similar programs, because this information may provide ins ights into student personality and general aptitude. Copyright (C) 1999 by W.B.. Saunders Company.