News and Notes

Medical Specialty Preference Inventory, Revised Edition (MSPI-R) released

We've recently expanded the Medical Specialty Preference Inventory assessment to include 16 major medical specialties and 18 Medical Interest Scales. The new Medical Specialty Preference Inventory, Revised Edition (MSPI-R) replaces the Specialty Preference and 38 Factor scores with two new sets of scores: Specialty Choice Probabilities and Medical Interest Scales.

Specialty Choice Probabilities generate a score that indicates the likelihood a student will enter into each of the 16 medical specialties. The Medical Interest Scales measure students' interest in 18 areas of medical practice that are experienced to varying degrees in each specialty. This new method for assessing specialty choice in the MSPI-R is very much like a weather forecast: the Medical Interest Scales are like the current conditions--a student's interest in various aspects of medicine as they currently stand. The Specialty Choice Probabilities are like the seven-day forecast--they predict which specialties a student might be likely to enter based on their item responses. And while people occasionally curse meteorologists for incorrect predictions, forecasts do provide useful information to help us plan our day. And we've found increased validity with the Specialty Choice Probabilities, as much as 75 percent accuracy in predicting students' first, second, or third specialty choice. So, while the results aren't 100 percent certain, they do provide a solid place for students to start exploring specialties.

Also, replacing "Understanding Your Results" in the report is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) feature to help liaisons, advisors, and students understand the revised MSPI. The FAQs can also be accessed through the MSPI-R's main page and through links from other pages on the CiM Web site.

The Careers in Medicine and AAMC staff constantly strive to improve the CiM program. We'd appreciate your feedback on the MSPI-R e-mailed to careersinmedicine@aamc.org.

Coming soon

We'll be updating the Specialty Pages on our Web site to include the 2009 joint AAMC and National Resident Matching Program report on "Charting Outcomes in the Match." We expect to post the updated data by mid-November.

We're also currently updating the Physician Values in Practice Scale (PVIPS) using research that has continued since the tool first debuted. Anticipate the revised PVIPS will go live in Spring 2010.

CiM Workshop recap

Sixteen liaisons and advisors from 13 schools attended our fall CiM workshop held September 29-30, 2009 at the AAMC headquarters in Washington, D.C. Those who could not attend missed a power outage and a festive birthday celebration for a workshop attendee. In addition to successfully navigating the workshop agenda, attendees offered ideas for addressing additional aspects of career planning and counseling including a living library event where students briefly "check out" a resident to ask questions about their specialty. It was a creative and engaged group!

Attendees also requested CiM staff support to address disability issues in choosing a specialty, create awareness among students of the CiM timeline, and employ a marketing gimmick for enticing students to take the assessments. As always, we consider every idea suggestion and request for support submitted by our constituents, but we're a small team. If in the meantime, you have ideas that can address fellow liaisons' and advisors' requests or share a similar need as one already mentioned, please tell us by e-mailing careersinmedicine@aamc.org.

The CiM Workshop is a two-day session where participants learn how to implement the Careers in Medicine program on their campus. The workshop is tailored to medical school faculty and staff responsible for providing career-planning services to medical students. Our next CiM Workshop is tentatively scheduled for March 11-12, 2010 at the AAMC headquarters in Washington, D.C. Visit www.aamc.org/programs/cim/training for confirmed meeting information.

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