Identifying and remediating specific deficiencies of entering medical students

Learning support interventions for Year 1 medical students: a review of the literature

“…The approach to learning support seems to be conceptualised in three ways. Firstly, in the reactive‐deficit approach, learning support is provided in the form of remediation to students once they have failed . Secondly, in the proactive‐deficit approach, learning support is provided to a specific group of students perceived to have a deficit prior to failure .…”

“…Interventions seem to focus on several areas, including content knowledge, academic success skills, personal and professional skills, and programme‐related elements. Content knowledge interventions primarily addressed basic sciences, mathematics, medical vocabulary and terminology, behavioural sciences, and unspecified content knowledge or academic performance …”

“…Although the intervention strategies were not always indicated, the interventions were provided through various strategies. Faculty staff‐facilitated learning included individual or small‐group tutoring, laboratory reviews, problem‐based learning tutoring and clinical forums . Peer‐facilitated learning included peer‐led study groups, peer tutoring, and peer coaching and mentoring by students in more senior years .…”

“…The causes of academic failure at any stage of first‐degree medical training include both academic and non‐academic factors . For instance, academic failure may arise from inefficient learning and study skills, poor comprehension strategies, deficiencies in specific academic and content areas, lack of self‐regulation and metacognitive skills, inability to transition to self‐directed learning, lack of resilience and poor stress management, inability to manage a high workload, poor fit between the student and the learning environment, and personal factors . Additionally, learning challenges can be precipitated by students’ inability to identify their own learning deficiencies and the reluctance of some medical students to seek help .…”

At-risk medical students: implications of students’ voice for the theory and practice of remediation

“…The education literature provides a clear catalogue of the reasons why some students struggle at medical school, including: problems with time management; 1 over‐reliance on passive learning; 2,3 insufficient background and content knowledge; 4 weakness in literacy, numeracy, study skills, test‐taking strategies or critical thinking, 5,6 and a general lack of the self‐regulatory and metacognitive skills that are correlated with academic success 7–10 . However, these weak students tend to avoid seeking assistance 11–13 …”