Association of professional pre-qualifications, study success in medical school and the eligibility for becoming a physician: A scoping review

BACKGROUND: Literature, individual experiences and common considerations suggest that prior professional qualification can be an advantage for later career development. For instance, in Germany, professional pre-qualification has been honored by medical faculties in selection procedures for several years. However, a systematic evaluation of this relationship lacks. This scoping review summarizes existing literature and addresses the role of prior professional pre-qualifications on objective or subjective study success and the choice of a specialization. METHODS: The scoping review was performed oriented on the PRISMA guidelines. PsycINFO and PubMed databases were searched for relevant studies that included data of medical students with and without professional pre-qualifications. To answer the underlying research questions, this scoping review also includes studies that examine professional pre-qualifications in association with non-cognitive "soft" criteria. RESULTS AND FURTHER DIRECTIONS: 1055 items were identified and reviewed by two independent reviewers with final 11 studies were included for this scoping review. The results of identified studies that report possible effects of prior pre-professional qualifications are inconclusive but suggest that prior professional qualifications tend not to have rather an advantage on study success. Medical school success for students with prior professional qualifications tended to be below average in the preclinical setting, and there were no differences in the clinical setting compared with students without prior professional qualifications. The influence of professional pre-qualifications has not yet been adequately studied without the moderator variable “waiting time” and “A-levels grade”. The scoping review indicates insufficient number of articles stating a co-relation of prior pre-qualifications and subjective data. Again, the results found are not sufficient to state a clear relationship between professional pre-qualifications and the choice of a specific speciality preference. However, professional pre-qualifications, both in medicine and as "practical experience in rural areas", tend to be beneficial for the choice of becoming a rural physician. Large-scale cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the influence of professional pre-qualifications on different study trajectory parameters.