Does 'online confidence' predict application success and later academic performance in medical school? A UK-based national cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) previously piloted an assessment of 'online confidence', where candidates were asked to indicate how confident they were with their answers. This study examines the relationship between these ratings, the odds of receiving an offer to study medicine and subsequent undergraduate academic performance.

Design

National cohort study.

Setting

UK undergraduate medical selection.

Participants

56 785 UKCAT candidates who sat the test between 2013 and 2016 and provided valid responses to the online confidence pilot study.

Primary outcome measures

Two measures of 'online confidence' were derived: the well-established 'confidence bias', and; a novel 'confidence judgement' measure, developed using Item Response Theory

SUBMITTER: Tiffin PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6937070 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature