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The SFFP Report. Effect on the MCAT and Medical School Admission. Henry Sondheimer, MD Senior Director, Medical Education Projects July 30, 2012. Agenda. How we got to MCAT 2015 Components of the new test Competency Based Admissions Pre-requisites in the interim.
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The SFFP Report Effect on the MCAT and Medical School Admission Henry Sondheimer, MD Senior Director, Medical Education Projects July 30, 2012
Agenda • How we got to MCAT2015 • Components of the new test • Competency Based Admissions • Pre-requisites in the interim
Transforming Admissions • Transforming admissions to keep pace with changes in science and medical education • Preparing a physician workforce to improve the health of all
Blue-ribbon Panel Reports Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians Report (2009) Behavioral and Social Science Foundations for Future Physicians (2011) Roadmap to Diversity: Integrating Holistic Review Practices (2010)
SFFP Entering Competencies Apply quantitative reasoning and appropriate mathematics to describe or explain phenomena in the natural world. Demonstrate understanding of the process of scientific inquiry, and explain how scientific knowledge is discovered and validated. Demonstrate knowledge of basic physical principles and their applications to the understanding of living systems. Demonstrate knowledge of basic principles of chemistry and some of their applications to the understanding of living systems.
SFFP Entering Competencies Demonstrate knowledge of how biomolecules contribute to the structure and function of cells. Apply understanding of principles of how molecular and cell assemblies, organs, and organisms develop structure and carry out function. Explain how organisms sense and control their internal environment and how they respond to external change. Demonstrate and understanding of how the organizing principle of evolution by natural selection explains the diversity of live on earth.
Evidence Base for MCAT2015 Roadmap to Diversity: Integrating Holistic Review Practices • Fact-finding efforts: • Blue-ribbon panels • Holistic Review Project Advisory Committee • Over 90 Outreach events • Over 2700 completed surveys Behavioral and Social Science Foundations for Future Physicians Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians Report
Combining Skills and Concepts • Each cell represents the point at which foundational concepts, content categories, and scientific inquiry and reasoning skills cross • Test questions are written at the intersections of the content and skills
Critical Analysis & Reasoning Skills • Asks examinees to critically analyze, evaluate, and apply information presented in passages from humanities & social sciences, including: • Ethics • Philosophy • Population health • Cross-cultural studies • Specific disciplinary knowledge not needed
Testing and Course Completion • Some examinees test for the first time as juniors, some as seniors, and some later: • Juniors - 41% • Seniors - 27% • Later - 27% • Before testing, many examinees complete biochemistry, psychology or sociology: • Biochemistry - 63% • Introductory psychology - 65% • Introductory sociology - 32%
Applying to Medical School • Some apply after junior year, some after senior year, and some while in post-bac or grad school: • As college seniors - 37% • During gap year - 44% • Post-bac or grad school - 19% • Many medical schools require or recommend biochemistry or a behavioral or social science course: • 83% biochemistry • 53% behavioral or social science
Competency-Based Admissions • Competency-Based Admissions (CBA) is an approach to admissions that employs processes intended to determine each applicant’s ability to demonstrate a core set of entry-level competencies needed to succeed in medical school, residency and in practice. • This core set of entry-level competencies includes both: • Interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies • Academic competencies
The Prerequisite Landscape During the Transition to the 2016 Entering Class Application Cycle
What are medical schools doing? • 75% of schools that responded to a survey indicated a willingness to create less-restrictive pathways. • 43% of respondents answered “No” or “Sometimes” to the question: “If an applicant does not meet your school's premedical course requirements, are they excluded from the applicant pool?” • How schools create and show their flexibility will likely vary from school to school.
Schools with no required courses • Hofstra North Shore—LIJ School of Medicine • Medical University of South Carolina • Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania • Southern Illinois University School of Medicine • University of Cincinnati College of Medicine • University of Virginia School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania: Guidance to Applicants http://www.med.upenn.edu/admiss/admissions1.html
Other Current Models of Flexibility • Schools that don’t require organic chemistry: • University of Minnesota Medical School • Cooper Medical School of Rowan University • Schools that don’t require inorganic chemistry: • Central Michigan University College of Medicine • University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry • Northeast Ohio Medical University • Schools with parallel pathways: • Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School: Changing course requirements http://hms.harvard.edu/content/requirements-admission “Interdisciplinary courses that break down the barriers among, demonstrate complementary concepts of, and highlight collective wisdom in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics are encouraged.”
Next steps • The AAMC is recommending that medical schools reassess their current prerequisite course requirements with a focus on creating the least-restrictive pathway for applicants.
