An investigation into the design and effectiveness of a mandatory cognitive skills programme for at-risk medical students.

Background: Many medical schools provide academic support programmes to aid increasing numbers of students from diverse backgrounds. There have been calls for research into successful intervention programmes, and for detailed descriptions of how they work.

Aims: To explore the efficacy of a mandatory intervention programme for at-risk medical students.

Method: Students who failed and then repeated first semester were required to participate in a cognitive skills programme, following a syllabus based on principles drawn from both educational experience and multi-disciplinary theory and practice. Performance of programme participants was compared to the performance of students who repeated prior to the mandatory programme.

Results: Of the participants (n = 216), 91% passed their repeat semester, compared to 58% (n = 715) for controls (p < 0.0001). This significant effect persisted for progression through the school for the subsequent three semesters (p < 0.0005).

Conclusion: A mandatory programme that draws on a blend of theories and research-proven techniques can make a positive difference to the outcomes for at-risk medical students.