The new Medical College Admission Test: Implications for teaching psychology.

Abstract

This year’s applicants to medical school took a newly revised version of the Medical College Admission Test. Unlike applicants in the past, they were asked to demonstrate their knowledge and use of concepts commonly taught in introductory psychology courses. The new Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior Test asked applicants to demonstrate the ways in which psychological, social, and biological factors influence perceptions and reactions to the world; behavior and behavior change; what people think about themselves and others; the cultural and social differences that influence well-being; and the relationships among social stratification, access to resources, and well-being. Building from the classic biopsychosocial model, this article provides the rationale for testing psychology concepts in application to medical school. It describes the concepts and skills that the new exam tests and shows how they lay the foundation for learning in medical school about the behavioral and sociocultural determinants of health. This article discusses the implications of these changes for undergraduate psychology faculty and psychology curricula as well as their importance to the profession of psychology at large.

A progressive three-phase innovation to medical education in the United States

“…Just as changes have been applied to both the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) [1] and the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) [2] to reflect modern trends in examination preparation and testing science, the need to consider widespread changes to the way we train physicians has never been more vital. It was not long ago that medical students simply studied notes obtained in a traditional classroom format, and the economical and lifestyle fates of medical students did not rely so heavily on the results of standardized testing.…”

Bridging the Problem-Based Learning Gap for the Pre-Medical Student: Lessons Learned from Physicists Maxwell and Einstein

“…8 Making subjects meaningful requires relevance. 1,2,4,5,9,10 Some suggest this could be done through the introduction of medical genomic and informatics, since these are the basis of future medical treatments. 5 Others observe that simulated patient experiences, using artificial patients, 1,9 role playing, 4,10,11 or exposure to the clinical setting as a volunteer 2 improve students' interest and knowledge retention.…”

“…Evaluation of knowledge, logic and understanding began in 1928 with the earliest form of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) 2 , and pre-medical curricula have been bound to this ever since. 2,4 In 2015, the MCAT switched to analytical skills questions and added a section on psychological and social sciences, 2 which benefitted students matriculating from liberal arts institutions, such as our own. 4 The pre-medical curriculum was originally designed to "free up" the medical school preclinical components 1 and match the MCAT.…”

“…1 By 1910, Abraham Flexner had expanded this to a two-year curriculum of individual anatomy, pathology, pharmacology, 2 and botany 3 courses. Evaluation of knowledge, logic and understanding began in 1928 with the earliest form of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) 2 , and pre-medical curricula have been bound to this ever since.…”

“…4 The pre-medical curriculum was originally designed to "free up" the medical school preclinical components 1 and match the MCAT. 2 Keeping up with the new MCAT scope means pre-medical students now need biochemistry and several courses in psychology and sociology, 2 decreasing their free elective options. 5 Students know that even free electives can harm their grade point average, 1 and this often narrows their knowledge diversity still further.…”