The GRE over the entire range of scores lacks predictive ability for PhD outcomes in the biomedical sciences

Underrepresented nurses' perceptions of a mentorship program supporting their applications for advanced practice nursing programs: A descriptive cross-sectional survey study

BACKGROUND

The diversity in the workforce of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists does not reflect the changing demographics.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to evaluate a national mentorship program supporting underrepresented nurses' applications for nurse anesthesia education programs.

METHODS

Convenience sampling was employed to recruit the participants for this descriptive cross-sectional survey. The survey had 23 questions, including 21 multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions.

FINDINGS

A total of 1,133 participants participated in the survey study. The average score of overall respondents' satisfaction level on the program was 4.87, with almost all participants (1,116, 98.6%) feeling satisfied or very satisfied with the program. The respondents provided 565 comments on the program (i.e., nine domains and 49 themes) and 842 learning reflection notes (i.e., eight domains and 53 themes).

DISCUSSION

This national initiative is a promising intervention to help underrepresented nurses get ready for nurse anesthesia education program applications.

Eliminating Sleep Health Disparities and Achieving Health Equity: Seven Areas for Action in the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Community

Racial and ethnically minoritized and under-resourced populations do not reap the same benefits of sufficient sleep as their white counterparts resulting in insufficient sleep and sleep health disparities. Research exploring these disparities have documented a plethora of factors including social determinants of health, community violence, and structural issues - all of which are associated with adverse sleep. There are robust evidence base behavioral intervention that can be leveraged to improve sleep health among racial and ethnic groups. However, EBIs are not well leveraged. In 2021, with participation from members of the society of behavioral sleep medicine, we conducted this report to bring together the field of behavioral sleep medicine including researchers, clinicians and trainees to discuss gaps and opportunities at the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism, and sleep health. The goals were anchored around seven recommendations toward reducing disparities in the near-term and longer-term approaches to eliminating disparities. Furthermore, we acknowledge that reducing and eliminating disparities in sleep health requires a multifaceted approach that includes a focus on individual, community, health care and societal levels of influence with participation from diverse partners including federal, state and local.

The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences

Graduate admissions committees throughout the United States examine both quantitative and qualitative data from applicants to make admissions determinations. A number of recent studies have examined the ability of commonly used quantitative metrics such as the GRE and undergraduate GPA to predict the likelihood of applicant success in graduate programs. We examined whether an admissions committee could predict applicant success at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences based on quantitative metrics. We analyzed the predictive validity of admissions scores, undergraduate GPA, and the GRE for student success. We observed nuanced differences based on gender, ethnicity, race, and citizenship status. The scores assigned to applicants by the admissions committee could not predict time to degree in PhD students regardless of demographic group. Undergraduate GPA was correlated with time to degree in some instances. Interestingly, while GRE scores could predict time to degree, GRE percentile scores could predict both time to degree and PhD candidacy examination results. These findings suggest that there is a level of nuance that is required for interpretation of these quantitative metrics by admissions committees.

Increasing Clinician-Scientist Workforce Diversity through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences’ Medical Scientist Training Program

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) has been successful in producing clinician-scientists, with a majority of graduates pursuing research-related careers. However, there are a number of areas of continuing concern for the program. In particular, women and individuals from certain racial and ethnic backgrounds remain persistently underrepresented in MSTPs relative to the average college-aged U.S. population and to students receiving life sciences bachelor’s degrees. The authors, who include leaders of NIGMS, identify a number of challenges and opportunities for enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the MSTPs and suggest strategies for addressing them.

Undergraduate GPA Predicts Biochemistry PhD Completion and Is Associated with Time to Degree

There is interest in admission criteria that predict future success in biomedical graduate school programs, but identifying predictors of PhD attainment is inherently complex. In particular, high noncompletion rates of PhD programs have long been recognized as a major crisis. Here, we present a quantitative analysis of the PhD students enrolled in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M University between 1980 and 2010. The input variables included sex, country of citizenship, undergraduate grade point average (GPA), and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning). Only GPA was a significant predictor of PhD completion based on logistic regression. We also examined associations involving nonbinary measures of success (PhD duration, first author, and total number of publications) among students who completed a PhD. GPA was again associated with the PhD duration. No enrollment variable was strongly associated with publication output. Despite potential limitations, this analysis is the first to suggest an undergraduate GPA association with PhD completion in life sciences. These results from a large state university in a predominantly rural area expand the range of programs from which such analyses have been reported.

Can the GRE predict valued outcomes? Dropout and writing skill

Graduate school programs that are considering dropping the GRE as an admissions tool often focus on claims that the test is biased and does not predict valued outcomes. This paper addresses the bias issue and provides evidence related to the prediction of valued outcomes. Two studies are included. The first study used data from chemistry (N = 315) and computer engineering (N = 389) programs from a flagship state university and an Ivy League university to demonstrate the ability of the GRE to predict dropout. Dropout prediction for the chemistry programs was both statistically and practically significant for the GRE quantitative (GRE-Q) scores, but not for the verbal or analytical writing scores. In the computer engineering programs, significant dropout prediction by GRE-Q was evident only for domestic students. In the second study, GRE Analytical Writing scores for 217 students were related to writing produced as part of graduate school coursework and relationships were noted that were both practically and statistically significant.

Training the Next Generation of Clinical Psychological Scientists: A Data-Driven Call to Action

The central goal of clinical psychology is to reduce the suffering caused by mental health conditions. Anxiety, mood, psychosis, substance use, personality, and other mental disorders impose an immense burden on global public health and the economy. Tackling this burden will require the development and dissemination of intervention strategies that are more effective, sustainable, and equitable. Clinical psychology is uniquely poised to serve as a transdisciplinary hub for this work. But rising to this challengerequires an honest reckoning with the strengths and weaknesses of current training practices. Building on new data, we identify the most important challenges to training the next generation of clinical scientists. We provide specific recommendations for the full spectrum of stakeholders-from funders, accreditors, and universities to program directors, faculty, and students-with an emphasis on sustainable solutions that promote scientific rigor and discovery and enhance the mental health of clinical scientists and the public alike.

A report of the AGCPD task force to evaluate associations between select admissions requirements, demographics, and performance on ABGC certification examination

Graduation from a genetic counseling graduate program accredited by the Accreditation Council of Genetic Counseling and certification obtained by passing the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) certification examination are increasingly required to practice as a genetic counselor in the USA. Despite the ABGC certification examination serving as a gateway to the genetic counseling career, there have been no research studies to date that have examined what variables are associated with examination performance. Therefore, the Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors established a Task Force to assess whether trainee demographics, Grade point average (GPA) and Graduate Record Exam (GRE®) percentile scores are associated with passing the ABGC certification examination on the first attempt. We surveyed accredited genetic counseling graduate programs in North America and gathered demographic data, admissions variables, and certification examination outcome data for 1,494 trainees from 24 training programs, representing approximately 60.5% of matriculants between 2007 and 2016. Univariable analysis was performed to assess associations between admissions variables and categorical outcome (pass vs. fail) on the certification examination using Wilcoxon rank-sum or Fisher's exact test. Variables significantly associated with the categorical board outcome were then entered in a stepwise model selection procedure. In stepwise logistic regression, trainees with higher GPA (OR = 3.41; 95% CI = 1.99, 5.83), higher verbal (OR = 1.02; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.03) and quantitative (OR = 1.02; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.03) GRE® scores, female trainees (OR = 2.95; 95% CI = 1.70, 5.12), and White trainees (OR 3.37; 95% CI = 2.14, 5.30) had higher odds of passing the certification examination on the first attempt. As programs move to a holistic approach to graduate admissions in order to improve access to the genetic counseling profession, our results may influence programs to provide additional preparation for the certification examination for all trainees. In addition, genetic counseling professional organizations should continue to work together to assess and eliminate outcome disparities in admissions, training, and certification processes.

A Randomized Study to Assess the Effect of Including the Graduate Record Examinations Results on Reviewer Scores for Underrepresented Minorities

Whether requiring Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) results for doctoral applicants affects the diversity of admitted cohorts remains uncertain. This study randomized applications to 2 population-health doctoral programs at the University of California San Francisco to assess whether masking reviewers to applicant GRE results differentially affects reviewers’ scores for underrepresented minority (URM) applicants from 2018–2020. Applications with GRE results and those without were randomly assigned to reviewers to designate scores for each copy (1–10, 1 being best). URM was defined as self-identification as African American/Black, Filipino, Hmong, Vietnamese, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. We used linear mixed models with random effects for the applicant and fixed effects for each reviewer to evaluate the effect of masking the GRE results on the overall application score and whether this effect differed by URM status. Reviewer scores did not significantly differ for unmasked versus masked applications among non-URM applicants (β = 0.15; 95% CI: −0.03, 0.33) or URM applicants (β = 0.02, 95% CI: −0.49, 0.54). We did not find evidence that removing GREs differentially affected URM compared with non-URM students (β for interaction = −0.13, 95% CI: −0.55, 0.29). Within these doctoral programs, results indicate that GRE scores neither harm nor help URM applicants.

Performance measures of racially underrepresented Ph.D. students in biomedical sciences: The UAMS IMSD Program Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to identify performance measures of racially underrepresented minority (RUM) Ph.D. trainees who needed additional training initiatives to assist with completing the UAMS biomedical science degree. A sample of 37 trainees in the 10-year NIH-NIGMS funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) were examined. Descriptive statistics and correlations examined process measures (GRE scores, GPAs, etc.) and outcome measures (time-to-degree, publications, post-doctoral fellowship, etc.) While differences were found, there were no statistically significant differences between how these two groups (Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately White Institutions (PWIs)) of students performed over time as Ph.D. students. Graduates who scored lower on the verbal section of the GRE also had a higher final graduate school grade point average in graduates who received their undergraduate training from HBCUs. Of the graduates who received their undergraduate training from PWIs, graduates who scored lower on the quantitative section of the GRE had higher numbers of publications. These findings stimulate the need to 1) reduce reliance on the use of the GRE in admission committee decisions, 2) identify psychometrically valid indicators that tailored to assess outcome variables that are relevant to the careers of biomedical scientists, and 3) ensure the effective use of the tools in making admission decisions.

The GRE in Public Health Admissions: Barriers, Waivers, and Moving Forward

In the wake of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for a diverse public health work force to address problems presented or exacerbated by the global pandemic. Educational programs that create our work force both train and shape the makeup of access through graduate applications. The Graduate Record Exam has a number of standing issues, with additional barriers created by the pandemic. We trace the GRE waiver movement over several years, focusing on the gradual adoption in CEPH accredited programs and the rapid expansion of temporary waivers as a response to testing access. Going forward, we need to consider gaps in waivers during the pandemic and how this data can be used to shape our future use of the GRE.

Maintaining Core Values in Postgraduate Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus identified in 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted pharmacy graduate and postgraduate education. This crisis has resulted in a cosmic shift in the administration of these programs to ensure core values are sustained. Adjustments may be needed at a minimum to ensure that postgraduate trainees complete program requirements while maintaining safety. Moving forward, additional issues may arise that will need to be addressed such as admissions and program onboarding, acclimating students to new training environments, and managing inadequate resources for distance education, distance practice, and remote versus in-person research opportunities.