Table 2. Overview of studies included.
| Author | Article type | Sample | Frequency of professional pre-qualifications (PPQ) | Main outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (year, country) | Characteristics | ||||
| Research Question a) objective (cognitive) data | |||||
| 1 | Hampe et al., 2008; Germany | Peer-reviewed | N = 333 medical students; | N = 63 (18.9%1) have PPQ | Completed professional pre-qualifications was not correlated with improved academic success. |
| N = 51 medical students with medical-associated PPQ were not specified in the analysis | |||||
| nfemale = 216 (64.9%1) | |||||
| Students with professional pre-qualifications passed significantly fewer exams on average (n = 5.8, SD = 6.2) than students without prior vocational qualifications (n = 8.8, SD = 8.7) (t-test: p < .01). | |||||
| nmale = 117 (35.1%1) | |||||
| Mage not reported | |||||
| 2 | Heidmann et al., 2017; Germany | Congress paper | N = 277 participants who took part in the university selection process at the European Medical School Oldenburg | Number of students with PPQ not reported | Students with medicine-associated professional pre-qualifications performed significantly better on the overall MMI score (p < .05, r = .14) and on the selection interviews (p < .01, r = .17). |
| 3 | Hampe et al., 2009; Germany | Review | Overall number of medical students not reported | Number of students with PPQ not reported | Previous professional pre-qualifications demonstrate no significant difference regarding dropout rates (except for a later start of study at 28–32 years of age). |
| The grades for students with professional pre-qualifications were on average slightly worse in the pre-clinical, but not in the clinical, study section than those of the other students | |||||
| 4 | Simmenroth-Nayda et al., 2014; Germany | Peer-reviewed | N = 3473 participants who took part in the university selection process; | N = 533 (15%1) have relevant/health-care associated PPQ | Students with professional pre-qualifications scored significantly better in the selection process of the universities of Göttingen (M = 22.24 points (3.54)/ M = 22.25 points (1.95)) than participants without PPQ M = 19.44 points (3.24)/ M = 20.95 points (2.85)); (δ = 0.744, p < .014/ δ = 0.554, p < .015). |
| nfemale = 2473 (71%1) | |||||
| nmale = 1003 (29%1) | |||||
| Mage = 20.0 years1,2 (R = 17–34 years) | |||||
| The advantage vanishes in the second step of the selection process with A-level grades. | |||||
| Participants with professional pre-qualifications tended to score lower in the A-level grades (M = 23.44 points (1.84))/ M = 24.05 points (0.95)) than other participants (M = 27.74 points (1.74))/ M = 26.95 points (1.15) (δ = 2.454, p < .0014/ δ = 2.925, p < 0.0015). | |||||
| Research Question b) non-cognitive data | |||||
| 5 | Hiemisch at al., 2005; Germany | Peer-reviewed | N = 853 students of medicine and dental medicine at both times; | Number of students with PPQ not reported | Since only 5–6% of the variance could be attributed to the variables age, gender and completed professional pre-qualifications, these variables were not included in the analysis. |
| %female = (65%1) | |||||
| %male = (35%1) | |||||
| 6 | Talwalker et al., 2016; USA | Peer-reviewed | N = 166 students of medical, nursing and physician associate studies; | N = 143 (86.7%) have healthcare-associated PPQ | On the Roles/Responsibility subscale of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, students with healthcare-associated professional pre-qualifications scored significantly higher (M = 11.9 points (2.33)) than those participants who had no prior experience (M = 10.7 points (2.19)) (t-test: t(163) = 2.30, p < .05). |
| nfemale = 112 (67.9%) | |||||
| nmale = 53 (32.1%) | |||||
| Mage = 25.1 years1 (2.91) | |||||
| 7 | Paulmann et al., 2016; Switzerland | Congress paper | N = 628 medical graduates 1.5 years after finishing university in 5 cohorts | N = 142 (23%) have PPQ, more than 80% of them healthcare-associated (ca. 19%) | Previous professional qualifications do not influence the dependent variables ("self-assessed medical skills" and "assessment of study satisfaction"). |
| However, a negative influence due to the delayed start of medical studies could not be shown either. | |||||
| Research Question c) preference for subsequent specialist training | |||||
| 7 | Paulmann et al., 2016; Switzerland | Congress paper | N = 628 medical graduates 1.5 years after finishing university in 5 cohorts | N = 142 (23%) have PPQ, more than 80% of them healthcare-associated (ca. 19%) | Among students with professional pre-qualifications, the field of anaesthesiology appears to be significantly more popular (27%) than among students without professional pre-qualifications (9%) |
| 8 | Kesternich et al., 2017; Germany | Peer-reviewed | N = 474 medical students during their clinical period at medical studies | Number of students with PPQ not reported | Students who wanted to become rural physicians tend to have more healthcare-associated professional pre-qualifications, but the difference was not significant (two-sided t-test: p > .05). |
| Rractical experience in the health-care sector 53% | |||||
| nfemale = 2991 (63%) | |||||
| nmale = 1751(37%) | |||||
| 9 | Kopp et al., 2016; Germany | Peer-reviewed | N = 11,462 medical students; | Number of students with PPQ not reported | Healthcare-associated professional pre-qualifications had a modest, nonsignificant, positive influence on the preference toward general practice as residency. |
| nfemale = 6,634 (64%), | |||||
| nmale = 3,650 (36%); | |||||
| Mage = 25 years2 | |||||
| 10 | Rourke et al., 2008; Canada | Review | Overall number of medical students not reported | Number of students with PPQ not reported | Students from rural areas are more likely to enter the profession of rural medicine. |
| Practical medical work, undergraduate rural training, or postgraduate rural training have a positive influence on entering the profession of rural medicine. | |||||
| 11 | Henry et al., 2009; Australia | Review | Overall number of medical students not reported | Number of students with PPQ not reported. | A strong predictor of admissions to rural medical practice is if students resided in a rural area prior to medical school. |
| Practical work, especially in the later clinical sections of medical school, also has a positive influence on starting work as a rural physician. | |||||
1 value self-calculated by author
2 standard deviation not reported
3summation of values from two different cohorts, self-calculated by author.
4 cohort of students in winter semester 2013/14 at the University of Göttingen
5cohort of students in summer semester 2014 at the University of Göttingen.