Predicting Gains in Knowledge during Medical Intern Training
Gains in physicians' clinical knowledge and ability to reason about professional problems as a result of intern training were measured by an end of training examination tailored to the training program. Ss were groups of interns (N = 70 to 96) in rotating internships in U. S. Public Health Service Hospitals. The end of training examination, as a criterion, was predicted by pretests, a combination of aptitude tests and professional examinations covering medical school subjects. Multiple correlations corrected for shrinkage ranged from .62 to .73. The findings indicate that knowledge of the effects training is designed to produce and identification of individuals most suited for a particular program can improve selection by the prospective training institution.