BACKGROUND: In 2004 the University of Nebraska College of Medicine developed an online prematriculation program, Fast Start, to introduce students to the environment and expectations in medical school. PURPOSE: This quantitative study was conducted to determine whether using Fast Start correlated with performance in the gross anatomy course. METHODS: A hierarchical regression analysis was used to correlate grades in gross anatomy with a set of common prediction variables and a variable for use of Fast Start. RESULTS: The results showed that the predictive power of the full model, including the Fast Start variable, was slightly stronger than for the reduced model. A separate model verified the absence of an interaction between Fast Start use and prior academic ability. CONCLUSIONS: The online Fast Start program provided an efficient and effective method of delivering a prematriculation student orientation experience; its use was associated with marginally improved performance in a medical school course.
BACKGROUND: In 2004 the University of Nebraska College of Medicine developed an online prematriculation program, Fast Start, to introduce students to the environment and expectations in medical school. PURPOSE: This quantitative study was conducted to determine whether using Fast Start correlated with performance in the gross anatomy course. METHODS: A hierarchical regression analysis was used to correlate grades in gross anatomy with a set of common prediction variables and a variable for use of Fast Start. RESULTS: The results showed that the predictive power of the full model, including the Fast Start variable, was slightly stronger than for the reduced model. A separate model verified the absence of an interaction between Fast Start use and prior academic ability. CONCLUSIONS: The online Fast Start program provided an efficient and effective method of delivering a prematriculation student orientation experience; its use was associated with marginally improved performance in a medical school course.