Post‐Baccalaureate Program Biochemistry Content as a Predictive Indicator of Health Professional School Admissions and Success

Abstract

The Master of Arts in Medical Sciences (MAMS) degree at Heritage University, a predominantly Native American and Hispanic‐serving institution, is a one‐year bridge or pipeline program to graduate health professional schools. The degree program is operated in collaboration with Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine and Washington State University College of Pharmacy. MAMS students are typically first generation, minority, late‐blooming, or disadvantaged individuals. Coursework taken alongside first‐year medical students at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences as well as first‐year pharmacy students at Washington State University coupled with standardized exam preparation, service‐learning opportunities, mentorship, study strategies, club participation, and access to medical, physician assistant, and pharmacy school faculty/staff/students provide MAMS students with the capability to strengthen their applications as well as demonstrate their readiness for professional school. Rigorous Scientific Foundations of Medicine (SciFOM) and Pharmacogenomics courses within the MAMS curriculum have been shown to be key predicative indicators of student success in gaining admission to health professional school as well as subsequent academic performance and graduation. The SciFOM and Pharmacogenomics courses are biochemistry‐rich and cover topics such as histology, immunology, embryology, microbiology, biochemical metabolism, genetics, neuroscience, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and molecular biology. Delivery of integrated course content utilizes lectures, in‐class discussion, case‐based learning, small‐group learning, computer‐facilitated learning, and laboratory activities to maximize student comprehension of fundamental basic science principles. MAMS students take the SciFOM coursework alongside first‐year PNWU osteopathic medical students and the Pharmacogenomics content with first‐year WSU pharmacy students. Since the program's inception in 2012, 98% of MAMS students that have scored 77% or higher in the SciFOM and 85% in the pharmacogenomics courses, respectively, have gained admission to a health professional school of their choice. Nearly 41% of the SciFOM high achieving MAMS students have been minorities, and 96% of the SciFOM performing MAMS students have remained in good academic standing, passed Board Exams, and/or graduated from health professional school. The highly performing MAMS students have been admitted to medical, dental, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy, and physician assistant schools at nearly twice (1.5X) the rate of most post‐baccalaureate program graduates. Biochemistry course content, therefore, appears to be a reliable predictive indicator of student admission and success in graduate health professional schools.