Chosie Kim, Shults Reagan
Medical Education, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, USA.
Research, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, USA.
Cureus. 2025 Jun 21;17(6):e86479. doi: 10.7759/cureus.86479. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Background and objective Attrition in medical school remains a persistent concern, despite the use of pre-admission metrics such as undergraduate science GPA (SGPA) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, which do not consistently predict student success in high-demand, accelerated curricula. We evaluated whether engagement in three non-mandatory academic support interventions - individual tutoring, weekly tutor drop-in sessions, and lecture attendance - was associated with improved outcomes among first-semester osteopathic medical students. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed de-identified records for 52 matriculants (Fall 2024). Students were classified as Dismissed, Repeat, Remediate, or Passed at term end. Participation in each intervention (yes/no) and baseline metrics (MCAT, SGPA, and graduate school GPA [GSGPA]) were extracted. A chi-square test of independence examined the association between intervention use and academic outcome (α = 0.05); effect size was reported as Cramer's V. Results There was a statistically significant association between the tutor drop-in sessions and academic outcome (χ²(3) = 12.13, = 0.007; Cramer's V = 0.48). Notably, 71% of dismissed students did not attend tutor drop-in sessions, compared to 90% of remediating and 82% of passing students who did attend. Mean SGPA was lowest among dismissed students (2.98) and highest among those who passed (3.37), while MCAT scores were relatively uniform across groups (range: 496.6 to 499.0). GSGPA, though inconsistently available, did not demonstrate a clear correlation with academic outcomes. Visual trend analyses supported the conclusion that participation in the tutor drop-in sessions was more strongly associated with successful remediation and course passage than prior academic metrics alone. Conclusions The findings underscore a robust association between student engagement in academic support interventions and positive academic outcomes. Although traditional admissions metrics provided limited differentiation among outcome groups, the presence or absence of proactive academic support engagement emerged as a meaningful predictor of student success. These results suggest that optional support models may not adequately serve students at risk for academic failure, and that institutions may benefit from implementing structured, mandatory intervention frameworks to ensure equitable access and promote academic resilience, particularly for those demonstrating early signs of academic difficulty. Prospective studies should examine optimal timing, frequency, and scalability of compulsory academic-support frameworks.
背景与目的 尽管使用了诸如本科理科平均绩点（SGPA）和医学院入学考试（MCAT）成绩等入学前指标，但医学院的学生流失问题仍然一直令人担忧，这些指标并不能始终如一地预测学生在高要求、加速课程中的学业成功。我们评估了参与三种非强制性学术支持干预措施——个别辅导、每周辅导答疑课和课堂出勤——是否与整骨医学专业一年级学生更好的学业成绩相关。方法 在这项回顾性队列研究中，我们审查了52名入学新生（2024年秋季）的匿名记录。学生在学期末被分类为退学、留级、补考或及格。提取了每种干预措施的参与情况（是/否）以及基线指标（MCAT、SGPA和研究生阶段平均绩点[GSGPA]）。独立性卡方检验考察了干预措施的使用与学业成绩之间的关联（α = 0.05）；效应大小以克莱默V系数报告。结果 辅导答疑课与学业成绩之间存在统计学上的显著关联（χ²(3) = 12.13，P = 0.007；克莱默V系数 = 0.48）。值得注意的是，71%的退学学生没有参加辅导答疑课，相比之下，参加的留级学生为90%，及格学生为82%。退学学生的平均SGPA最低（2.98），及格学生的平均SGPA最高（3.37），而MCAT成绩在各群体中相对一致（范围：496.6至499.0）。GSGPA虽然并非始终可得，但与学业成绩没有明显的相关性。直观趋势分析支持这样的结论，即参与辅导答疑课与成功补考及课程通过的关联比仅依据先前的学业指标更强。结论 研究结果强调了学生参与学术支持干预措施与积极学业成绩之间的紧密关联。尽管传统的录取指标在不同成绩组之间提供的区分有限，但积极参与学术支持与否成为了学生学业成功的一个有意义的预测指标。这些结果表明，可选的支持模式可能无法充分服务于有学业失败风险的学生，院校可能会受益于实施结构化、强制性的干预框架，以确保公平获取并提升学业适应能力，特别是对于那些表现出学业困难早期迹象的学生。前瞻性研究应考察强制性学术支持框架的最佳时机、频率和可扩展性。
