ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Interest in improving medical school admissions processes led to the development of a structured admissions interview to eliminate potential bias and provide valid information for selection. This article reports on the degree to which this interview, along with other admissions variables, predicted later student performance during medical school. METHODS: All applicants considered for admission participated in the new interview. Interview scores and regular admissions data were compiled. Measures of performance in cognitive (e.g., written test scores) and non-cognitive (e.g., ratings of listening skills) domains were gathered during participants' enrollment in medical school and correlated with measures gathered during the admissions process. RESULTS: Cognitive predictors predicted later performance in cognitive domains but did not predict non-cognitive performance. Both written and interview-based measures of non-cognitive abilities predicted performance in non-cognitive domains. Both cognitive and non-cognitive predictors predicted grades in clinical rotations, which presumably reflect a mixture of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support the predictive validity of our interview-based measure above other cognitive and non-cognitive admissions variables more easily gathered. However, in some domains, interview-based variables did incrementally predict medical school performance.
ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Patients completing a multidisciplinary pain treatment were contacted to obtain 13-year follow-up information on pain, mood, employment, and general health. OBJECTIVES: Study objectives were to determine if post-treatment improvements were maintained over a lengthy follow-up period and to compare patients' general health to norms of comparably aged persons. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Although many studies have demonstrated the short-term effectiveness of multidisciplinary pain treatment programs for chronic low back pain, few studies have documented that these treatment gains are maintained over time. Only two studies have reported patient outcomes on a long-term basis (10+ years). Those studies have documented that patient gains during treatment are generally maintained during follow-up. METHODS: An attempt was made to contact all patients completing an inpatient chronic back pain rehabilitation program at the University of Iowa's Spine Diagnostic and Treatment Center. Of the 45 participants, 28 were located and 26 agreed to participate in a telephone interview. Analyses of pretreatment and posttreatment data revealed these follow-up participants did not differ from the larger study sample. RESULTS: Patients maintained their treatment gains in all areas (pain intensity and interference, negative mood). Additionally, patients showed levels of general health comparable to similarly aged peers with the exceptions of pain (more pain) and physical functioning (lower functioning, more pain interference). More than half the sample was employed; of those not employed, few reported this was due to pain. CONCLUSIONS: The data lend support to the long-term effectiveness of multidisciplinary treatment programs for chronic low back pain.
