BackgroundMedical students are exposed to high amounts of stress. Stress and poor academic performance can become part of a vicious circle. In order to counteract this circularity, it seems important to better understand the relationship between stress and performance during medical education. The most widespread stress questionnaire designed for use in Medical School is the “Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument” (PMSS). It addresses a wide range of stressors, including workload, competition, social isolation and financial worries. Our aim was to examine the relation between the perceived Medical School stress of undergraduate medical students and academic performance.MethodsWe measured Medical School stress using the PMSS at two different time points (at the end of freshman year and at the end of sophomore year) and matched stress scores together with age and gender to the first medical examination (M1) grade of the students (n = 456).ResultsPMSS scores from 2 and 14 months before M1 proved to be significant predictors for medical students’ M1 grade. Age and gender also predict academic performance, making older female students with high stress scores a potential risk group for entering the vicious circle of stress and poor academic performance.ConclusionsPMSS sum scores 2 and 14 months before the M1 exam seem to have an independent predictive validity for medical students’ M1 grade. More research is needed to identify potential confounders.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi: 10.1186/s12909-017-1091-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Most medical students in Germany are admitted via selection procedures, which are adjusted to the demands of the universities. At Lübeck medical school, scores from interviews that measure non-academic skills and pre-university GPAs are summed to arrive at an admission decision. This article seeks to illuminate the effectiveness of this selection procedure in comparison to other non-selected student groups. Methods: Quota information and exam results from the first federal exam were linked for students admitted to Lübeck medical school between 2012 and 2015 (N = 655). Five different student groups (university-specific selection quota, pre-university GPA quota, waiting time quota, ex-ante quota and foreign students) were compared regarding exam attempts, written and oral grades, temporal continuity and examination success in the standard study period. Results: While the pre-university GPA quota outperformed all other quotas regarding written and oral grades, it did not differ from the selection quota regarding exam attempts, temporal continuity and examination success in the standard study period. Students in the waiting time and ex-ante quotas performed inferior by comparison. The results of foreign students were the most problematic. Conclusion: Students selected by the university show high temporal continuity and examination success. These results, and possible advantages in physician eligibility, argue for the utilisation of non-academic skills for admission.

Following publication of the original article [1], it was noted that due to a typesetting error, the Table 1 and Table 3 were processed incorrectly. The correct tables are given below. Tables 1 and 3. The original article has been corrected.