Medical Student Performance Evaluations for International Medical Graduates: Variability in Content and Standardization.

OBJECTIVE

The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) could be a standard objective measure to evaluate international medical graduates (IMGs) in the residency application. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether international MSPEs are compliant with best-practice guidelines and whether the content allows for meaningful comparisons with other candidates.

DESIGN

This was a retrospective cohort study of applications submitted in 2023 from 117 international medical schools to the obstetrics & gynecology (OB/GYN) residency program at a single institution. One representative MSPE for each school was reviewed for page length, sections included, and section content as outlined in the 2016 MSPE Task Force Guidelines. Results were analyzed and descriptive statistics were reported.

SETTING

OB/GYN residency program at New York Presbyterian Hospital - Columbia Campus

PARTICIPANTS

IMG applications to the OB/GYN residency program as identified by an Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates annotation

RESULTS

Of the 117 international medical schools, 105 (90%) included an MSPE. The median page length was 6 (range 2-13). Recommended MSPE sections were represented as follows: Identifying Information (99%), Noteworthy Characteristics (94%), Academic History (98%), Academic Progress (100%), Summary (98%), Medical School Information (72%). Within the Academic Progress section, 57% reported preclinical grades, and 79% reported clinical grades. When final grades were reported, comparative data were available only about half the time (preclinical 50%, clinical 51%). A summative rating was included in the Summary section in 50% of MSPEs; only 75% of these were accompanied by comparative data.

CONCLUSIONS

The international MSPEs follow the structure outlined by the guidelines. However, the inconsistent reporting of final grades, summative ratings, and associated comparative data within these sections makes it difficult to interpret IMG performance and use the international MSPE as an objective measure to compare applicants.