Selection Of Medical Students Research Articles

A survey of opinion among different occupational groups toward selection of medical students.

A survey was conducted by postal questionnaire among 1200 residents of metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, to determine public opinion on various policies and procedures concerned with the selection of medical students. There were 712 respondents, reflecting closely the metropolitan population in age and sex distribution but having a significant bias toward higher status occupational groups. Responses were examined separately for three broad occupational groups and were found to be quite consistent across each group. A clear majority preference was indicated for selecting medical students not only from those completing secondary school but including others with different educational and occupational backgrounds, and for using a variety of selection procedures in addition to examination results.

Premedical training, personal characteristics and performance in medical school.

Despite concern over the concentration on science in pre-medical education and the selection of medical students in the United States, no major changes have been made. The present study compares attrition rates and clinical competence levels of medical students who vary in pre-medical training, age, and sex, in order to determine the risk attached to accepting applicants with different background characteristics. No differences were found in levels of clinical competence, although the groups varied in average science scores on the medical college admission tests (MCATs). Students with non-science undergraduate majors had lower scores on this test than science majors. Younger women had relatively high attrition rates, but high performance on the MCAT science sub-test and in medical school science course. It was concluded that all groups had adequate science preparation for medical school, and there was no greater risk of producing doctors with low levels of clinical competence associated with accepting students from groups with lower science performance.

Prediction of clinical performance

The relationship of life experience prior to the admission to medical school to clinical performance was studied. Age, prior military experience, and educational background were found to be related to clinical performance. Students with recent military experience, former military officers, and those with a science background were found to perform in a way superior to younger and older students, non-officers, and nonscience majors, respectively. While the current study was performed in Israel and under a community-oriented curriculum, its findings tend to support those of research in the United States and were seen as enhancing the understanding of the role of nonintellectual factors in the selection of medical students. The presence of an interest/motivational factor was presented and discussed.

Prediction of student clinical performance

The predictive validity of 'traditional' tools utilized in the selection of medical students was evaluated in a 'non-traditional' selection paradigm, where a wide range of previous-academic ability was represented. The validity of the use of pre-academic grades and examination scores in the prediction of success in clinical performance was examined in a medical school which de-emphasizes these indicators and emphasizes personal characteristics assessed via interview ratings in student selection. Grades and examination scores were found to have no relation to clinical ratings which have an added interpersonal and community emphasis during the fourth-sixth years of medical school. A positive trend was found for interview ratings with clinical performance, but the skewed nature of interview scores was seen as limiting investigation of this variable. The meaning of these results vis-à-vis the continued use of academic and examination related selection criteria was discussed.

DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS FOR SELECTION AND EVALUATION IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION

ABSTRACTThe purposes of this study were (1) to develop and validate measures of diagnostic problem solving that might be useful in the selection of medical students and in evaluating performance during training, and (2) to improve our understanding of the cognitive processes involved in such problem solving.The study involved three kinds of measures. (1) Criterion tests were paper‐and‐pencil simulations of the salient aspects of medical diagnostic situations. Three such problems used a free‐response format that required examinees to think of ideas for themselves, while three employed a structured‐response (expanded multiple‐choice) format. (2) Experimental selection tests were paper‐and‐pencil simulations of situations that present problems of a nonmedical nature and that could presumably be solved by methods like those used for medical problems. Both free‐response and structured‐response problems were included. (3) Process measures were selected from existing test batteries to measure cognitive abilities and personality characteristics thought to be involved in carrying out problem‐solving activities.All three kinds of measures were administered to 122 fourth‐year medical students. The selection tests and the process variables were given to 97 first‐year students. Finally, a small number (30) of advanced residents took the criterion tests only. Data from student records, such as MCAT and National Board scores, were also obtained as appropriate.

Attitudes towards psycho-social factors in medicine: an appraisal of the ATSIM scale.

As the importance of psycho-social factors in medicine is increasingly stressed, it is believed that attitudes towards psycho-social issues in medicine should be taken into account in the selection of medical students. The first step of a longitudinal study concerning the impact of medical studies on the students of a French-Canadian University gave us the opportunity to appraise the adequacy of Parlow & Rothman's (1974) ATSIM scale, a measure of attitudes towards psycho-social issues in medicine. We found the following correlations: (1) High scores on the ATSIM scale were negatively correlated with a relatively closed value system (high scores for dogmatism), (2) openness towards psycho-social factors in medicine and empathy were positively correlated, (3) There was a stronger correlation between the ATSIM scale and acceptance of absortion for social conditions than between acceptance of abortion for physical risks and this scale (this shows the social orientation of the ATSIM scale), and (4) hight scorers on the ATSIM scale seem to be more 'sensitive, forthright and expedient' than low scorers. Our results suggest that Parlow & Rothman's (1974) ATSIM scale might be a useful tool in the selection of medical students and further research is needed.

Medical student selection: a tentative attempt to establish a code of practice.

Each year medical schools in the United Kingdom select about 3800 entrants from about 12 000 applicants. The problem of selection is thus substantial, but the objectives, policies, and practices of different medical schools differ sharply and details of the procedures used are rarely made clear. There is no reliable or up-to-date information available for schools, careers of advisers, and prospective candidates to keep abreast of these practices and policies and of changes made to them. A code of practice for medical student selection might be helpful and would not only facilitate discussion about the appropriateness and fairness of the widely differing practices but make it easier to evaluate the procedures used. Such a code should list the academic and personal requirements for the school, state any quotas for types of entrants, and describe the selection procedures.

Selection of medical students

Selection of medical students

Summary of Medical Student Selection in 1980 in the Private Medical Schools

Summary of Medical Student Selection in 1980 in the Private Medical Schools

Interviewing and the Selection of Medical Students: the Experience of Five Years at Beersheba

Abstract The authors review and evaluate the literature on the interview and other tools for the selection of medical students. They explain the goals of the selection process, which relies on the interview as the critical element of selection in the medical school of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, Israel. The focus is on three issues: Who are the interviewers? What is the precise nature of the interview? What is the role of the interview evaluation in the final selection of students?

Process for Selection of Medical Students at McMaster University

Abstract The methods used to select students for the medical programme at McMaster University are described. These methods have been developed in an attempt to select those students who will be best able to meet the school's objectives in the type of physician it wishes to produce. The criteria of selection are directly related to the educational programme which is interdisciplinary and problem‐based, and requires the students to be self‐directed learners.

General Medical Council Conference on the Selection of Medical Students 22 February 1979

General Medical Council Conference on the Selection of Medical Students 22 February 1979

Selection of medical students

Selection of medical students

Selection of medical students.

Selection of medical students.

Selection of Medical Students — Occupational Mortality — William Harvey

THE latest report of the Universities Central Council on Admissions1 shows that in Britain, medicine retains its position as one of the most popular career choices for university entrants, although the total of 12,098 applicants for 3742 places last October was nearly 1000 less than the largest previous total of 13,003 in 1974. The applicants last year consisted of 8033 men and 4065 women, of whom 2341 men and 1401 women succeeded in gaining admission to a medical school.In view of this fierce competition for places it is not surprising that there is often some controversy about the method . . .

The bent twig: psychiatry and medical education.

The authors note that an increase in psychiatry's involvement in the selection and education of medical school students, which historically has been limited and problematic, would benefit both the discipline and the profession in general. There is evidence indicating the need to pay attention to personal attributes in medical education, particularly in light of the incidence of problems in physicians (e.g., addiction, alcoholism, and suicide) that fall within psychiatry's area of expertise. Active participation by psychiatry in medical education might also help combat the cynicism that seems to develop during training and might contribute to consideration of ethical issues and to the fostering of emotional maturity.

The Present State of Medical Student Selection in Japan

The Present State of Medical Student Selection in Japan

Suicide and drug abuse in the medical community.

In the United States each year the equivalent of an average-size medical school graduating class commits suicide, with the highest incidence occurring in the decade following the completion of training. Of these suicides, 20% to 30% are associated with drug abuse and 40% with alcoholism. Various problem areas are considered. Role strain, leading to excessive drug use in an attempt to increase work efficiency, is coupled with a denial of the physician's own dependency needs and gratification. The problem of identity occurs in relation to the exaggerated sense of duty and obligation the physician feels in attending to the demands of the patients and their families. Medicine as magical thinking is also discussed, revealing the physician's belief in his own immunity, which is strenuously tested when he actually sets up in practice. The community's high regard for the physician further complicates the situation. Too little has been done about working with emotional problems of medical students during their training and after they begin to practice. Unfortunately, physicians feel uncomfortable in turning to colleagues for help; rather, they tend to isolate themselves, resorting to alcohol and drugs. One should question the selection of medical students and their overall training, not only in terms of academic learning but also with more consideration for the stresses and strains of the future career.

By the London Post. Bleak outlook -- selection of medical students -- lessons of doctors' industrial action.

IT would be churlish not to give Mrs. Barbara Castle, Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Security, credit for her strenuous and successful efforts to protect her department f...

Editorial: Methods used by different countries and medical schools for selecting medical students.

Editorial: Methods used by different countries and medical schools for selecting medical students.