SELECTION FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL – DO WE REALLY USE BOTH ACADEMIC AND NON-ACADEMIC CRITERIA?

David James*, Eamonn Ferguson*, David Powis**, Miles Bore**, Don Munro**, Ian Symonds* and Ben James*.

* University of Nottingham, UK

** University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Background:

Both academic and non-academic factors predict success in medical training. At Nottingham selection for the 5-year course is by academic (mostly A-levels) and non-academic criteria (UCAS personal statement, web-based questionnaire and semi-structured interview). Entry to the graduate 4-year programme is by an (essentially) academic examination (GAMSAT) and a structured interview assessing non-academic attributes in the top GAMSAT performers (~15%). Do both academic and non-academic criteria influence student selection in practice?

Method:

We studied predictors of receiving an offer to read medicine in a group of 308 applicants (212 school leavers and 96 graduates applying for the 5-year and 4-year courses respectively) in the 2002-03 cycle. The criteria examined were:

PQA = Personal Qualities Assessment Examination

Results:

Using univariate analyses, those receiving an offer on 5- and 4-year courses were only significantly different from those not receiving an offer in terms of academic criteria (higher GCSE and MAT scores in those receiving an offer). There were no differences in non-academic criteria.

Using forward logistic regression, academic factors were the only independent predictors of receiving an offer for both courses. For the 5-year course this was the average GCSE points and for the 4-year course it was average GCSE points, average A-level points in science subjects and degree class.

Conclusions:

In practice academic criteria dominate our selection process. Non-academic criteria do not affect the outcome. If confirmed with larger numbers, a different selection process should be devised which gives greater weight to non-academic criteria.

SELECTION FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL – HOW MUCH MORE DIVERSITY DO GRADUATES BRING COMPARED TO SCHOOL LEAVERS?

David James*, Eamonn Ferguson*, David Powis**, Miles Bore**, Don Munro**, Ian Symonds* and Ben James*.

* University of Nottingham, UK

** University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Background:

'Widening access' to higher education including medicine is a high priority. At Nottingham >95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical course have been school leavers. Since October 2003 we have taken graduate entrants on to a shortened (4-year) course in one attempt to 'widen access'. How much diversity do these graduates bring?

Method:

To explore the diversity between the two groups of applicants the following were compared in a group of 308 applicants (212 school leavers applying for the 5-year course and 96 graduate entrants applying for the 4-year course) in the 2002-03 UCAS cycle who volunteered to participate:

PQA = Personal Qualities Assessment Examination

Results:

Graduate applicants compared to school leavers were significantly older, more likely to be male and come from a non-independent school, had significantly worse GCSE and A-level scores, were more conscientious, rule-conscious, and communitarian in moral orientation, were less anxious, and had less content in their UCAS personal statements.

However, when comparing those offered places on both the 5- and 4-year courses, the only significant differences persisting were in academic characteristics, age and UCAS Statement scores.

Conclusions

Graduate applicants are significantly different from school leavers in socio-demographic, academic and personal characteristics. However, most of the non-academic diversity found in the graduate applicants was 'lost' in the selection process, since those offered places were only different from school leavers in terms of academic performance, age and what they put in their UCAS personal statements.