Workforce

Post-baccalaureate, premedical programs aimed at minority and low-income students who have previously failed to gain admittance to medical school appear successful in increasing their chances of admission, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

For the study, Kevin Grumbach and Eric Chen -- both from the University of California-San Francisco -- examined outcomes from five post-baccalaureate, premedical programs at the University of California. The study involved 265 participants enrolled in baccalaureate programs from 1999 through 2002 and a control group of 396 graduates who signed up for the premedical programs but did not participate, according to the study.

The study found that by 2005, 67.6% of participants had enrolled in medical school, compared with 22.5% of the control group.

Researchers said that "continued support and expansion" of these programs is important to boost physician diversity and that cuts in federal funding might "threaten the continued existence" of these programs (Grumbach/Chen, JAMA, 9/6).

The Sept. 6 issue of JAMA contains additional studies related to medical education. Headlines and links are provided below.

• "Extended Work Duration and the Risk of Self-Reported Percutaneous Injuries in Interns" (Ayas et al., JAMA, 9/6).
  
  
• "Interns' Compliance With Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Work-Hour Limits" (Landrigan et al., JAMA, 9/6).
  
  
• "Association of Self-Perceived Medical Errors With Resident Distress and Empathy" (West et al., JAMA, 9/6).