One-year transitional programme increases knowledge to level sufficient for entry into the fourth year of the medical curriculum.

BACKGROUND To cope with a lack of doctors and in anticipation of the Bachelor-Master structure for Medicine, several Dutch universities offer graduate entry programmes for students with degrees in areas related to Medicine. The graduate entry programme is a four-year programme: after a transition period of one year students enroll in the fourth year of the regular six-year training programme. AIM The research questions in this study were (1) whether and when graduate entry students' knowledge reached a level comparable to that of regular medical students and (2) whether there were differences in knowledge levels between graduate entry students with a university or HBO (college) degree. METHODS The progress test results of ninety graduate entry students who were enrolled in the transitional programme between 2002 and 2004 were compared to those of regular third-year students. RESULTS Initially, graduate entry students scored significantly lower on the progress tests, but differences disappeared within a year. No differences were found between graduate entry students with a university or HBO degree. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that the increase in knowledge after a one-year transitional period is sufficient to enroll students with related degrees in the fourth year of the regular medical training programme.