Improving the medical school–residency transition

Summary Background In response to calls to improve the continuum between undergraduate and graduate medical education, many medical schools are creating electives designed to prepare students for residency training. There is a need for data that link improvements from these residency preparation courses to residency itself. Data is needed that links improvements from these residency preparation courses to residency Objective To examine senior medical student performance on the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics ( APGO ) Preparation for Residency Knowledge Assessment before and after an obstetrics and gynaecology residency preparation elective, and to determine whether the knowledge improvements persisted to the start of the residency. Methods All 13 students enrolled in the course completed the APGO knowledge assessment on the first and last day of the elective. Three months later, the students were asked to re‐take the assessment immediately prior to the start of their residency. Results There was improvement in mean scores from the pre‐test score of 66.4 per cent to the post‐test score of 77.4 per cent. At the time of the pre‐test, three of the 13 students (23%) had passing scores (70% or greater), and at the time of the post‐test, 11 of the 13 (85%) had passing scores. Nine of the 13 students (69%) completed the APGO knowledge assessment immediately prior to the start of their residency. Those nine students had a mean pre‐residency score of 76.4 per cent. Eight of the nine students (89%) passed the pre‐residency test. Conclusions Our data support the value of residency preparation electives for improving knowledge, and suggest that senior medical school electives can help to bridge the continuum between undergraduate and graduate medical education.