The Selection Interview

Abstract

Summary The Faculty of Medicine at Monash University has conducted medical student selection interviews for six years. It has now been possible to study extensively the educational impact of the interviews, the reliability of the interview ratings as well as their correlation with psychometric tests and their predictive capacity for success in the course as far as the end of fourth year. The interviews have generally been well received and appear to have a positive rather man negative effect on the motivation of applicants. The scores have high reliability and are well correlated with the results of personality‐orientated psychometric tests. When considered alongside secondary schools’ examination results, the interview scores are clearly inferior as predictors of success in the most cognitively orientated components of the course, but are superior to secondary schools’ examination results as predictors of success in the more humanistic components. At one extreme, secondary school physics results are good predictors (correlation coefficient > 0.4) of the results in many examinations, e.g. biochemistry and physiology, whereas interview scores are in some cases significandy negatively correlated to results in these subjects. At the odier extreme, no secondary schools’ subject results predict performance in the Community Medicine section of the fourth year whereas interview scores are significant in this regard. The problems involved in the selection of medical students are highlighted by the fact that performance in some components of the course is negatively correlated to many personality traits that seem desirable in medical practitioners.