Medical Student Academic Performance Outcomes at Different Columbia University Sites and Divisions [MEDS-AP]

With an increasing number of medical students in America, medical schools expand to multiple locations to accommodate this growing number. The high standards of education should be equivalent amongst every site.  At Columbia University Medical School, there are four affiliate hospitals- Bassett Hospital, Stamford Hospital, Harlem Hospital and New York Presbyterian (main location). The objective of this study was to compare the performance of medical students who completed their surgical clerkship at Columbia University, but did their rotations at Columbia University New York Presbyterian and at affiliate hospitals.  In addition to student performance at the various sites, performance in various specialty rotations also was assessed and compared. Students final medical school grades- the shelf exam (NBME), the Clinical Skills Exam (CSE) and the Student Performance Evaluation (SPE)- were collected from the graduating years of 2017-2018 and compared to determine if any discrepancies between the four sites exists. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) the credential body for medical schools, mandates equivalent educational experiences across teaching sites. We used the system IBM SPSS to analyze if there are any significant differences between the four sites. Overall grades are composed of 60% SPE, 30% CSE and 10% NBME. We found that different sites had significantly different strengths and weaknesses, and steps need to be taken to ensure equity between the sites. We also found that the percentages of students earning “high pass”, “pass” and “honors” was relatively the same across all sites.