Abstract

Objective: The correlate demographic variants and study techniques in a large intensive Mexican National Medical Residency Exam (ENARM) preparation course with performance. Methods: Data were obtained from the database of the intensive preparation course of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL, a public university). The course was in-person, with an online platform for additional activities. Demographic data from the subjects enrolled were used and categorized in eight geographic regions. A sub-analysis was performed correlating the grade point average (GPA) to determine the influence of the probability of selection in the exam. Results: Of the total cohort, 942 attendees (51.4% men) were included for the analysis. The mean age was 26.9 ± 2.26, with a mean of 54.36 ± 29.48 h of platform time use. Of the total, 54.5% were selected for a residency program. Those who were selected used the platform for longer periods of time than those who were not selected (55.50 ± 28.63 vs. 52.98 ± 30.42 h, p = 0.097), although it was not statistically significant. Similarly, for the percentage of activities completed (67 ± 24% vs. 66 ± 25%, p = 0.463), differences by gender (54.1% men vs. 54.8% women, p = 0.540), and public versus private schools (56.3% vs. 50.7%, p = 0.052). However, there was significant difference between accredited schools (55.8% vs. 45.1%, p = 0.025), geographical location (p ≤ 0.001), and GPA (84.6 vs. 83.2, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Geographical location was the most important difference, which may be related to socioeconomic levels and resource availability. Graduating from an accredited school by the COMAEM and GPA are the important factors.

Keywords

• ENARM. Mexico. Residency selection. Associated factors.