Mission Statement

Who benefits most from the Board Prep style of instruction?

Educational research has shown that active learning promotes long term storage and retention of knowledge and systematic retrieval. Active learning is a key characteristic of instruction in the Board Prep program.. 

Daily Schedule

6:45=Wake up

8:00-12:00= Small Groups (See below for more information)

12:00-1:30=Lunch

1:30-5:00=Lecture (Lectures are interactive with questions and occasional student presentations)

5:00-7:00=Work out & Dinner

7:00-8:00=Study group

8:00-9:00=Relax

9:00-11:00=Self Study

11:00=Bedtime

What are the small groups actually like? Does everyone really discuss, or is it a smaller lecture called a small group?

In the morning there are four activities for the small groups to go through.

1) Clinical Correlations:  This consists of  students working in pairs presenting various diseases, summaries of drug classes, and overviews of pathogenic agents to other students in a small group setting.

2) Review:  This session ensures that students understood the concepts which were presented in lecture.  Students work with a partner, and explain topics from lecture without the use of books or notes.

3)  Question group:  In this group, students apply the test taking strategies taught at the program, to actual questions. Discussion follows the questions, and it is a time to explain thinking.   Essentially, question group allows students to understand why they are getting some questions wrong when even though they know the information.

As you can see, “small groups” really does mean small groups.  Students rely on each other to get the information down.  Everyone has their own way of remembering things and during this time students teach each other different pneumonics or easy ways to remember things.  During board exams, students often comment that they could recall different presentations given by the other students and it would help them to remember the information needed.  There is a facilitator with you in each of the activities who is there to help run things and maintain focus on the topic at hand.

Who are the lecturers?

Lecturers include faculty from the Kansas University and UMKC medical schools, the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, and professionals associated with other local hospitals and institutions.

How big are the classes?

Class sizes range from 6-10 for a Step 3 program to 35-50 for a Step 1 program.  Small groups consist of 5-6 people and during some of the activities two small groups combine.

History

In the spring of 1981, Dr. Robert Blanc, Co-Director of the Center for Academic Development (CAD), was asked to work with four UMKC medical students who had failed their first licensure examinations.   Two months later, all were successful and allowed to graduate.   A year later, Drs. Blanc and Martin reported on this at a national reading conference in Ohio.   The national exposure generated interest in the "Board Prep Program" resulting in requests for a more formal, structured review to prevent the loss of qualified students whose board scores was inconsistent with their academic performance. 

Building on and expanding the Supplemental Instructional (SI) model developed by CAD, the Board Prep Program, which became the Institute for Professional Preparation (IPP), engaged the services of several UMKC Basic Sciences faculty and developed a review curriculum.  SI relies on small group interactions with the student becoming involved in their own learning.  Trained facilitators model logical questioning and provide an opportunity for students to organize their information; develop more efficient retention strategies; and practice a systematic problem solving approach to national board type questions and concepts.  

Students were solicited from medical schools with the highest failure rates.  These were schools where under represented minorities and women were failing at a higher than average rate.  Historically, over 50% of students enrolled in IPP have been women and over 50% have been under represented minorities.  Over 2500 students from 120 American and International Medical Schools have enrolled in programs in Kansas City.  

Several educational research papers and reports have been presented at national conferences, including seminal research on brain function; learning and collaborative research using Dr. William Sedlacek's Non-cognitive Variables; and innovative instructional materials continue to be developed.  Recognized nationally as experts in standardized test question-writing and test preparation, staff provide consultation and training to medical schools, osteopathic schools, residency programs and nursing schools both in the United States and abroad.

As an auxiliary program within the Division of Student Affairs, IPP maintains an office at the UMKC Medical School.  Additionally, IPP provides an annual off campus review program at the St. Louis University School of Medicine; consults with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine; and offers computer based diagnostic testing for individual students as well as for institutions. 

Nationally recognized as the "Cadillac" of review programs, the Institute provides the "opportunity of last resort" or "tertiary care" for many medical students.  This unique program has an overall success rate of over 90% with American Medical Students in American Medical Schools.

Research

The staff completed a six-year study of the effectiveness of learning disability screening using brain electrical activity mapping.

On-going data is being collected using an adaptation of Sedlacek's Non-Cognitive Questionnaire which has been adapted for use with medical students.   

Additional research and development have addressed the application of Supplemental Instruction (SI) techniques to medical education and the use of video-based Supplemental Instruction (VSI) with medical students.  The latter research efforts have largely been done in collaboration with the Center for Academic Development on the UMKC campus.

Staff continue to track the academic and professional careers of its participants.

Research into questions associated with the process of multiple choice testing continues to interest the staff of the Institute.

IPP takes an active role in national and international organizations and conferences.   Publications appear in the fields of education and medicine in both the scholarly and popular press. Staff have presented papers at several academic conferences.

Other Services

Services and activities of the Institute fall broadly into three categories: (a) on-site instruction, (b) instructional support for other schools and institutions as well as individuals, and (c) research and instructional development. 

On-site Consultation

Instructional Support

The staff of the Institute have helped to support instructional programs on the UMKC campus in the schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing Administration, and Arts & Sciences.  Off campus, the staff consult with university faculties in the U.S., the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.

Individualized Study Programs

The Institute assists physicians preparing for certification and re-certification examinations.  A personalized program based on individual analysis, a workable study schedule, and assessment from a trained facilitator enable the practicing physician to realistically manage time and resources for exam preparation.

Off-site Consultation

The staff consult with faculties of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools across the U.S., in Copenhagen, Stockholm, London, Brisbane, Grenada, San Juan and Port Elizabeth (among other universities in the Republic of South Africa).  The experience of the staff of the Institute has proved useful to medical educators and students on a variety of other campuses, in the U.S, and abroad.