Introduction
Required educational conferences are common within Internal Medicine residency programs. These lectures aim to solidify medical knowledge to aid with excelling in required Internal Medicine specialty exams. It has been the assumption that high attendance is associated with higher test scores. This project aimed to determine if there is an association between residency lecture attendance, yearly in-training exam (ITE) scores, and in-house monthly quiz scores.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional study of data from Henry Ford St. John Internal Medicine residents who graduated between 6/30/2012 and 6/30/2022, with data limited to PGY-3 residents. Data included graduated resident’s average lecture attendance score, average yearly ITE scores, and average in-house monthly quiz scores over 3 years. Data were collected from departmental files by a research assistant who is not a member of the Department of Internal Medicine. Each individual was assigned a study ID, with no identifiers included. Data were analyzed by calculating descriptive statistics, and univariable analysis was done using Pearson’s correlation. A p-value less than 0.05 indicated statistical significance.
Results
The median average lecture attendance was 68.9% (46%-100%), 74.7% (29.6%-100%), and 65.6% (24%-200%) across years 1 to 3, respectively. The mean overall ITE scores were 50.3 ± 26.0, 58.2 ± 28.2, and 65.2 ± 22.2 across years 1 to 3, respectively. Average monthly quiz scores were 58.4 ± 9.2, 62.2 ± 10.2, and 64.4 ± 10.8 across years 1 to 3, respectively. The average monthly quiz score was correlated with average ITE score (r = 0.32, p <0.001).
Conclusions
The Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP) questions are crucial when preparing for the ITE, given these are the basis of monthly quizzes. Strong performance on the ITE has been associated with strong performance on the Internal Medicine Board Exam. MKSAP questions should be used in daily lectures and personal studying time to best prepare for the Internal Medicine Board Exam.