Korean J Med Educ.  2007 Sep;19(3):251-255.

Comparison of Students' Characteristics and Perceptions Before and After Introduction Into Graduate Medical School System

• Yoon TH
• Yune SJ
• Yoon S
• Lee SH
• Jeong IS
• Park BK
• Lee SY
• Chang CL
• Kim HK
• Rhim BY
• Jeong HJ

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was performed to compare the characteristics and perceptions of medical school students and professional graduate medical school students.
METHODS
Study subjects were 131 medical students from a national university and 113 applicants of a professional graduate medical school. We developed a self-reported questionnaire asking about socio-demographic characteristics; the level of satisfaction of educational environment; perception of missions of medical education and career plan and student activities during school.
RESULTS
Students from the professional graduate medical school were significantly different from medical students in socio-demographic characteristics. They also showed higher satisfaction with their education, were more supportive of student union activities and were more anxious about economic and health problems than medical students. However, there was no difference between the two groups regarding perception of missions of medical education and career plan after graduation.
CONCLUSION
Based on the above results, it is necessary to consider the characteristics and perceptions of professional graduate medical students when developing educational policies for these older students. The limitation of this study includes a restricted sample, and generalization of results should be done carefully. Thus, more extensive, wide-ranging studies would be useful.

Keyword

Professional graduate medical school; Medical college; Graduate entry medical school system

MeSH Terms

Education
Education, Medical
Generalization (Psychology)
Humans
Missions and Missionaries
Schools, Medical*
Students, Medical
Surveys and Questionnaires