Abstract
IntroductionThe decision-making process for students as to which medical schools to apply to is open to many factors and influences. Research has identified several factors which influence prospective students’ choice of medical school and career. There is also evidence that websites and prospectuses may be creating potential barriers to widening access.MethodsThe websites and prospectuses of 33 medical schools in the United Kingdom were searched for relevant images. These images and the people in them were subjected to inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data about the images and people were recorded so that a content analysis could be performed. The relative proportions were compared with pre-existing data relating to the medical profession and society.ResultsFrom 33 medical schools, 650 images were included, with 1,817 people depicted. The largest group for the assumed roles was ‘student’, as expected, with 1,423 people (78%). For the overall theme of the image, community placement themed images made up only 2% of images (14) and hospital placement themed images made up 24% (154). Chi-squared goodness of fit showed statistically significant results for most groups of data when comparing ethnicity, the overall theme of the image and assumed specialty group, but not when comparing gender.DiscussionIn conclusion, for gender, medical schools are accurately reflecting national data. However, for ethnicity medical schools fail to accurately represent national data, leading to incorrect signalling about the ethnic makeup of their students. Additionally, medical schools are signalling to students a strong preference for hospital-based settings, despite a strong national drive to recruit more general practitioners.
Highlights
The decision-making process for students as to which medical schools to apply to is open to many factors and influences
This paper adds value to the existing literature by evaluating the images chosen by medical schools for their websites and considering how these might inadvertently affect the choices made by prospective students
This research set out to answer the question ‘To what extent do the images of people used within United Kingdom (UK) medical school prospectuses and websites reflect current demographic data for medical students and healthcare professionals?’
Summary
The decision-making process for students as to which medical schools to apply to is open to many factors and influences. In August 2017, the Department of Health announced an increase in the number of places for medical students by 1,500 [1], an increase of 25% from the previous 6,000 places [2]. The allocation of these additional places was determined by several different elements [3] but preference was given to medical schools that showed their recruitment strategy created a future workforce reflecting the. This paper adds value to the existing literature by evaluating the images chosen by medical schools for their websites and considering how these might inadvertently affect the choices made by prospective students
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