Cognition Admission Test as Selection Method for Students’ Entry in a PBL Medical Curriculum [Letter]

Abstract

Reinaldo B Bestetti, Lucélio B Couto, Marina T Durand Department of Medicine, University of Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, BrazilCorrespondence: Reinaldo B BestettiDepartment of Medicine, University of Ribeirão Preto, Avenida Costábile Romano, 2201, Ribeirão Preto 14096-900, BrazilEmail [email protected] Dear editorWe have read with great interest the paper by Kötter et al1 The authors compared academic performance in the general practice of students in the fifth year of the medical course who were selected to entry the medical school based on preuniversity grade point average (pu-GPA) with those who were selected based on pu-GPA and a 30-min panel interview. They observed that the former was considered more suitable for general practice than the latter by the supervising general practitioner. However, because of the small sample size, they correctly stated that the results should be received with caution. Furthermore, because the study was carried in a single center, they conceded that the generalizability of the study to other medical schools was limited.The selection process for students to entry a medical course is still debatable. In other contexts, pu-GPA appears to be associated with outcome prediction2 low rate of students dropout during medical course.3 Pu-GPA has been associated with a successful career following graduation as well.2 Traditional interviews have been considered to have a poor outcome prediction in comparison with pu-GPA in the students’ selection process.2 Therefore, the findings of Kotter et al1 are somewhat surprising.   View the original paper by Kötter and colleagues