PREMEDICAL REQUIREMENTS A N D MEDICAL COLLEGE BIOCHEMISTRY SCORES WILL S. DELOACHLand GLENN F. POWERS Arkansas State Teachers College, Conway, Arkansas
Am students entering a given medical college have a group of premedical requirements in common. Certain courses in chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics, as well as the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), make up an important part of these common requirements. Biochemistry is an important basic course that is taken in the first year of medical school. I n this study correlation coefficients were determined between the medical college biochemistry scores of one class of 69 students a t the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, and their undergraduate grade-point averages (GPA) in (1) mathematics, (2) biology, (3) physics, (4) chemistry (all courses), ( 5 ) organic chemistry only, (6) all required science courses, and (7) all undergraduate courses. Table 1 gives these correlation coefficients.
termined. I n one the predictors were the over-all undergraduate GPA and the score on the Science part of the MCAT; in the other, the predictors were the overall undergraduate GPA and the score on the Quantitative Ability part of the MCAT. Table 3 gives these values. Although almost all of the 69 students had their premedical work in Arkansas, a number of different colleges were represented. Since grades vary from one college to another, as well as from one teacher to another, this might help to account for the fact that the correlation coefficients with the undergraduate work were not higher. When the very close relationship between organic chemistry and biochemistry is considered, it might he surprising that this correlation coefficient was so low (343). The fact that the organic chemistry was &ken' a t several different colTABLE 1 leges, in addition to the fact that the grade repreCorrelation Coeffkients of Medical College Biochemistvy sents only one course of six or eight semester hours Scores with Each of the Following Undergraduate GPA's might help to explain this. It should be noted that the Cowme 7 GPA of all of the undergraduate courses gave the highMathematics .355 est correlation coefficient (.393). Biolo~ 378 , The correlation coefficient with the score on the ModPhysics 209 ern Society part of the MCAT is conspicuously lower Chemistry (all courses) 333 Organic chemistry only 243 than the others (.041), and indicates that, with this Required science courses 203 group, there was very little relationship between that All undergraduate courses ,303 score and the score on biochemistry. The multiple correlations shown in Table 3 are higher Correlation coefficients were also determined he- than the correlations in Tables 1 and 2, and indicate a tween the medical college biochemistry scores and the stronger relationship than any of the individual corscores on the individual parts of the Medical College relations. Admission Test: (1) Modern Society, (2) Science, (3) Verbal Ability, and (4) Quantitative Ability. Table 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT gives these values. The authors wish to thank Dr. Joseph V. West, ProTwo multiple correlations between the medical college fessor of Psychology, Hendrix College, Conway, biochemistry scores and predictor variables were de- sas, for his help and advice on the statistical work, Present address: Catawha College, Srtlishury, North Caro- and they wish to thank Dr. H. C. Nicholson, former ha. Dean, University of Arkansas School of Medicine for permission to use the records there. TABLE 2 Correlation Coefficients of Medical College Biochemistry Scores With Scoms on Each of the Following Parts of the MCAT
MCAT pad
T
Modern society Science Verbal ability Quantitative ability
,041 355 ,334 ,379
TABLE 3 Multiple Co~relations Biochemistry score with overall GPA-Science score MCAT Biochemistry score with overall GPA-Quantitative score MCAT
.481 ,485
