Applicants to Canadian Medical Schools for 1966-67

An examination of applicants to Canadian medical schools for 1966-67 revealed that 4534 applications were received for the approximately 974 available places. The number of Canadian applications was 2866 and these were made by 1815 individual applicants, an increase of 48 over 1965-66. United States applicants declined from 1143 to 1013.Evaluations made by the schools concerning the acceptability of the Canadian applicants disclosed that 55 applicants who rated as “acceptable” by one or more schools failed to gain admission to any medical school in 1966-67 (as compared to 36 in 1965-66). However, of those applicants who did find a place 76 were evaluated as “marginal” or “unacceptable”, while another 126 were rated as “acceptable” by one school but “marginal” and/or “acceptable” by one or more other schools.These results were interpreted to imply that the Canadian medical schools were still experiencing difficulty in attracting well-qualified applicants for study in medicine.     

Factors affecting likelihood of applicants being offered a place in medical schools in the United Kingdom in 1996 and 1997: retrospective study

Objective To assess the relation between a range of measures and the likelihood of applicants to medical schools in the United Kingdom being offered a place overall and at each medical school, with particular emphasis on ethnic minority applicants.Design Data provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service on 92 676 applications to medical schools from 18 943 candidates for admission in 1996 and 1997. Statistical analysis was by multiple logistic regression.Main outcome measures Receipt of a conditional or unconditional offer of a place at medical school.Results Eighteen separate measures were independently associated with the overall likelihood of receiving an offer. Applicants from ethnic minority groups were disadvantaged, as were male applicants, applicants applying late in the selection season, applicants making non-medical (so called insurance) choices, applicants requesting deferred entry (so called gap year), and applicants at further or higher education or sixth form colleges. Analysis at individual medical schools showed different patterns of measures that predicted offers. Not all schools disadvantaged applicants from ethnic minority groups and the effect was stable across the two years, suggesting structural differences in the process of selection. The degree of disadvantage did not relate to the proportion of applicants from ethnic minority groups.Conclusions The data released by the Council of Heads of Medical Schools allow a detailed analysis of the selection process at individual medical schools. The results suggest several areas in which some candidates are disadvantaged, in particular those from ethnic minority groups. Similar data in the future will allow monitoring of changes in selection processes.

Key messages

• The Council of Heads of Medical Schools has made publicly available, on the website of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, detailed data on individual applications for medical school in 1996 and 1997
• These data allow analysis of factors influencing selection at individual medical schools in the United Kingdom, although some important measures such as GCSE grades, estimated A level grades, and assessments of personal attributes are not available
• In 1996-7 certain groups, in particular ethnic minority groups and male applicants, were disadvantaged during selection
• The disadvantage of applicants from ethnic minority groups seems stable across years, with some schools consistently showing no evidence of disadvantage
• Provision of similar data in the future will allow continued monitoring of selection and of the proposals for change made by the council

     

Audit of admission to medical school: I--Acceptances and rejects.

A prospective study of the process of application, selection, and admission to medical school was performed. St Mary''s Hospital Medical School received 1478 UCCA applications for admission in October 1981: 94 (6.4%) applicants entered St Mary''s in October 1981, 436 (29.5%) entered other medical schools, 176 (11.9%) read a subject other than medicine, and 772 (52.2%) did not enter university. The study included 12.6% of all applicants and 12.9% of all entrants to British medical schools in October 1981. Educational qualifications, demographic variables, type of schooling, family background, and the manner of application were examined in relation to overall selection. A level achievement was the major determinant of acceptance. O level achievement, early application, and medical parents had significant but smaller independent effects on the chance of acceptance. Social class, age, sex, and school type did not predict acceptance when corrected for academic and other factors. Few differences in personality, career preference, cultural interests or attitudes were found between those accepted and those rejected.     

Competencies in premedical and medical education: the AAMC-HHMI report

One hundred years ago, Flexner emphasized the importance of science in medicine and medical education. Over the subsequent years, science education in the premedical and medical curricula has changed little, in spite of the vast changes in the biomedical sciences. The National Research Council, in their report Bio 2010, noted that the premedical curriculum caused many students to lose interest in medicine and in the biological sciences in general. Many medical students and physicians have come to view the premedical curriculum as of limited relevance to medicine and designed more as a screening mechanism for medical school admission. To address this, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute formed a committee to evaluate the premedical and medical school science curricula. The committee made a number of recommendations that are summarized in this essay. Most important were that competencies replace course requirements and that the physical sciences and mathematics be better integrated with the biological sciences and medicine. The goal is that all physicians possess a strong scientific knowledge base and come to appreciate the importance of this to the practice of medicine. While science education needs to evolve, Flexner's vision is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago.     

Audit of admission to medical school: II--Shortlisting and interviews.

Analysis of shortlisting of applicants for interview at St Mary''s Hospital Medical School showed that factor analysis could reduce the selection criteria to three independent scales--"academic ability," "interests," and "community service"--all of which contributed to the interview decision. Early applicants scored more highly on all three factors but were still at a greater advantage in selection for interview than would have been predicted. The dean''s judgment of priority for interview from the UCCA form was found to predict a candidate''s chance of acceptance at other medical schools besides St Mary''s. Analysis of interviewing showed high correlations among interviewers in their assessments, although there was evidence of influence by the chairmen. Factor analysis showed three major factors--academic suitability, non-academic suitability, and health--of which non academic suitability was the major determinant of interview success. Non academic suitability was related to personality (high extraversion and low psychoticism) and to the choices made on the UCCA form. The system of admission interviews enabled greater emphasis to be put on broader interests and achievements than if selection had been on the basis of UCCA application form alone.     

Bad chemistry

General chemistry courses haven't changed significantly in forty years. Because most basic chemistry students are premedical students, medical schools have enormous influence and could help us start all over again to create undergraduate chemistry education that works.     

The Premedical Education of the First-Year Class in Canadian Medical Schools: 1965-66

The premedical academic records of the 1965-66 entering class of Canadian medical students were analysed. Ninety-six per cent of the class had taken their preparation in a Canadian institution, while 80% had taken it in the same university as the medical school in which they enrolled. Forty per cent entered without a degree, the remainder having at least a bachelor''s degree in arts or science.Thirty-six per cent of all courses taken by these students in their premedical education were in the physical sciences, 22% in the biological sciences and 41% in the social sciences and humanities. One-third of the students had taken no course in the behavioural sciences and another third had taken only one course.Analysis of the level of performance of the entering class showed that 10% had obtained an A average, 49% a B average, 41% a C average and 3% a D average. The grades of these students were higher generally in the natural sciences than in the social sciences or humanities.It was concluded that it could be questioned whether medical students received a premedical preparation which met the philosophy of a “broad, liberal education”.     

How Different Medical School Selection Processes Call upon Different Personality Characteristics

Background

Research indicates that certain personality traits relate to performance in the medical profession. Yet, personality testing during selection seems ineffective. In this study, we examine the extent to which different medical school selection processes call upon desirable personality characteristics in applicants.

Methods

1019 of all 1055 students who entered the Dutch Bachelor of Medicine at University of Groningen, the Netherlands in 2009, 2010 and 2011 were included in this study. Students were admitted based on either top pre-university grades (n = 139), acceptance in a voluntary multifaceted selection process (n = 286), or lottery weighted for pre-university GPA. Within the lottery group, we distinguished between students who had not participated (n = 284) and students who were initially rejected (n = 310) in the voluntary selection process. Two months after admission, personality was assessed with the NEO-FFI, a measure of the five factor model of personality. We performed ANCOVA modelling with gender as a covariate to examine personality differences between the four groups.

Results

The multifaceted selection group scored higher on extraversion than all other groups(p<0.01), higher on conscientiousness than both lottery-admitted groups(p<0.01), and lower on neuroticism than the lottery-admitted group that had not participated in the voluntary selection process. The latter group scored lower on conscientiousness than all other groups(p<0.05) and lower on agreeableness than the multifaceted selection group and the top pre-university group(p<0.01).

Conclusions

Differences between the four admission groups, though statistically significant, were relatively small. Personality scores in the group admitted through the voluntary multifaceted selection process seemed most fit for the medical profession. Personality scores in the lottery-admitted group that had not participated in this process seemed least fit for the medical profession. It seems that in order to select applicants with suitable personalities, an admission process that calls upon desirable personality characteristics is beneficial.     

A century of premedical education

The Flexner Report established guidelines for medical education and made the university the obligate home for medical education. Flexner mandated specific elements necessary for university-based premedical education. With the exception of the MCAT, much less attention has been paid to premedical education and its integration into the scope of medical education than to education within the confines of the medical school. This article reviews the history of premedical education, describes some recent critiques of premedical education, discusses a newer program for premedical education evolving at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and offers some suggestions for the future.     

A Pilot Study of Applications to the Four Ontario Medical Schools for Admission to the First Professional Year

In the fall of 1964, newspaper accounts of the medical school applicant situation in Canada reported that hundreds of fully qualified applicants were being turned away because of shortage of places. Such reports precipitated a pilot study of the applications received by the four Ontario medical schools for the first professional year of medicine and it was found, first of all, that the total of 1352 applications represented only 880 individuals. Nearly 32% of these applicants were American and 18% were citizens of Commonwealth or other countries. While a majority of the applicants met the minimal requirements of the schools, very few of the rejected applicants had academic records that justified admission when the informal standards of the schools were applied. It was concluded that it is erroneous to speak of a surplus of well-qualified applicants at the present time and that the need for recruiting programs still remains.     

Canadian Applicants to Medical Schools in Canada for 1965-66

An examination of applicants to Canadian medical schools for 1965-66 revealed that 4660 applications were received by the 12 schools for approximately 900 places available; 2852 of these were from Canadians, but because many applicants applied to more than one school, these 2852 applications represented only 1767 individuals. Evaluations made by the schools concerning the acceptability of these applicants showed that only 36 persons rated as “acceptable” by one or more schools failed to gain admission to any Canadian school for 1965-66. Furthermore, 66 “marginal” applicants were accepted, as were 130 multiple applicants who were rated as “acceptable” by one school but “marginal” and/or “unacceptable” by one or more other schools. Of the 464 multiple applicants, only 40% received the same evaluation from all schools to which they applied. If those multiple applicants who were rated as acceptable by all schools to which they applied are added to single applicants rated as acceptable, the pool of these clearly acceptable candidates (40% of all Canadian applicants) is sufficient only to fill 78% of places available. It was thus concluded that it is erroneous to speak of a surplus of well-qualified Canadian applicants at the present time.     

Characteristics of medical students who choose primary care as a career: the McMaster experience.

We examined the relation between demographic characteristics and the career choices of medical students who entered McMaster University medical school between 1969 and 1975. In contrast to earlier work, this study found no significant differences in sex, age, marital status at the time of entry into medical school, undergraduate major, whether prerequisite premedical courses had been taken, undergraduate grade point average and academic performance between the graduates who chose primary care and those who chose a specialty. This suggests that many medical school graduates in the 1970s entered primary care by choice rather than by default.     

Principle or pathology? Adjudicating the right to conscience in the Israeli military

The Israeli military's Conscience Committee evaluates and exempts pacifists from obligatory military service, based explicitly on concern for liberal tolerance. However, I found that liberal pacifist applicants’ principled objections to violence challenged the state, and as such, applicants who articulated their refusal in such terms are rejected by the military review board. By contrast, pacifist conscientious objection based in embodied visceral revulsion to violence did not challenge the state and moral order, and such cases were granted exemption. Objections based in understanding pacifism as a physical incapacity depoliticizes it by making it incommensurable with public moral debate concerning military service. The pathologization of pacifism demonstrates a contradiction between liberalism's ideology and its practices, revealing that the limits of liberalism are not only exterior, in nonliberal alterity, but also on liberalism's own interior frontiers.     

A Decade of Experience with Medical School Applicants at the University of British Columbia

During the decade 1952-1961, 2060 students applied for admission to the University of B.C. medical school. Only 1664 fulfilled the pre-medical requirements. This cluster of eligible applicants changed in size and characteristics as the medical school grew older; in general, the academic calibre of applicant cohorts improved as mean age fell and length of pre-medical training increased. A decline in the number of British Columbia applicants was to some extent balanced by an increase in other applicants.Forty-three per cent of eligible applicants were accepted by the screening committee. In contrast to the applicant cluster, freshman classes contained a disproportionate number of B.C. residents. Acceptance, however, was strongly correlated with good pre-medical academic performance and all M.C.A.T. scores except those for “Understanding Modern Society”. Unfortunately, one-quarter of all accepted students withdrew before registration and had to be replaced.These observations are interpreted in terms of student recruitment and the efficiency of the screening committee.     

Medicine or Science—A Study of Career Decisions

A study of the career decisions of all students in a single matriculation cohort was undertaken in 1965 at the University of British Columbia. Studied were 64 premedical students, 112 ex-premedical students and 87 science students who had completed at least their second year. It was found by means of a questionnaire that medicine remained the career of high prestige for the three groups of students. In general the values and needs of the ex-premedical student were more similar to those of the science student than the premedical student. The loyalists to medicine were found to be more committed, self-assured, and orientated towards people and service. In addition, the premedical student was more concerned about his academic achievement but was also more confident of his progress. He emerged at the end of his training as the committed student who had chosen medicine at an early age and had remained loyal to his chosen career goal.     

Evolution and medicine in undergraduate education: a prescription for all biology students

The interface between evolutionary biology and the biomedical sciences promises to advance understanding of the origins of genetic and infectious diseases in humans, potentially leading to improved medical diagnostics, therapies, and public health practices. The biomedical sciences also provide unparalleled examples for evolutionary biologists to explore. However, gaps persist between evolution and medicine, for historical reasons and because they are often perceived as having disparate goals. Evolutionary biologists have a role in building a bridge between the disciplines by presenting evolutionary biology in the context of human health and medical practice to undergraduates, including premedical and preprofessional students. We suggest that students will find medical examples of evolution engaging. By making the connections between evolution and medicine clear at the undergraduate level, the stage is set for future health providers and biomedical scientists to work productively in this synthetic area. Here, we frame key evolutionary concepts in terms of human health, so that biomedical examples may be more easily incorporated into evolution courses or more specialized courses on evolutionary medicine. Our goal is to aid in building the scientific foundation in evolutionary biology for all students, and to encourage evolutionary biologists to join in the integration of evolution and medicine.     

Weight bias in graduate school admissions

Objective:

Whether weight bias occurs in the graduate school admissions process is explored here. Specifically, we examined whether body mass index (BMI) was related to letter of recommendation quality and the number of admissions offers applicants received after attending in‐person interviews.

Design and Methods:

Participants were 97 applicants to a psychology graduate program at a large university in the United States. They reported height, weight, and information about their applications to psychology graduate programs. Participants' letters of recommendation were coded for positive and negative statements as well as overall quality.

Results:

Higher BMI significantly predicted fewer post‐interview offers of admission into psychology graduate programs. Results also suggest this relationship is stronger for female applicants. BMI was not related to overall quality or the number of stereotypically weight‐related adjectives in letters of recommendation. Surprisingly, higher BMI was related to more positive adjectives in letters.

Conclusions:

The first evidence that individuals interviewing applicants to graduate programs may systematically favor thinner applicants is provided here. A conscious or unconscious bias against applicants with extra body weight is a plausible explanation. Stereotype threat and social identity threat are also discussed as explanations for the relationship between BMI and interview success.     

Does the Committee Peer Review Select the Best Applicants for Funding? An Investigation of the Selection Process for Two European Molecular Biology Organization Programmes

Does peer review fulfill its declared objective of identifying the best science and the best scientists? In order to answer this question we analyzed the Long-Term Fellowship and the Young Investigator programmes of the European Molecular Biology Organization. Both programmes aim to identify and support the best post doctoral fellows and young group leaders in the life sciences. We checked the association between the selection decisions and the scientific performance of the applicants. Our study involved publication and citation data for 668 applicants to the Long-Term Fellowship programme from the year 1998 (130 approved, 538 rejected) and 297 applicants to the Young Investigator programme (39 approved and 258 rejected applicants) from the years 2001 and 2002. If quantity and impact of research publications are used as a criterion for scientific achievement, the results of (zero-truncated) negative binomial models show that the peer review process indeed selects scientists who perform on a higher level than the rejected ones subsequent to application. We determined the extent of errors due to over-estimation (type I errors) and under-estimation (type 2 errors) of future scientific performance. Our statistical analyses point out that between 26% and 48% of the decisions made to award or reject an application show one of both error types. Even though for a part of the applicants, the selection committee did not correctly estimate the applicant''s future performance, the results show a statistically significant association between selection decisions and the applicants'' scientific achievements, if quantity and impact of research publications are used as a criterion for scientific achievement.     

Reflections on Cellular Physiology as a Catalytic Framework for Medicine

These are the reflections of a retired physician who was introduced to cellular physiology in 1947 at the University of Pennsylvania. I majored in Zoology. I took the required major courses, which were interesting but not exciting. I was a premedical student at the time. Fortunately I was introduced to cellular physiology in 1947. The teacher was Professor Louis Heilbrunn, an amazing man dedicated to teaching and the love of his students. He had a number of graduate students at the time. The undergraduates were well integrated with these advanced students. We used his textbook of physiology and we were all proud of being his students. He gave us a new way of thinking about biology. It was exciting and we were treated as mature students. J. Cell. Physiol. 9999: 2596–2597, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Physiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Report. Proteomics education, an important challenge for the scientific community: report on the activities of the EuPA Education Committee

The main missions of the EuPA Education Committee (EuPA-EC) are to promote and enhance the quality of proteomics knowledge by creating educational programs and to initiate European-wide scientific exchange programs for young proteomics researchers. In this first report we present the initial actions we have undertaken in relation to the missions of the EuPA-EC, and the educational activities that have been planned for 2007-2008. These activities include courses (basic and advanced courses and a summer school), workshops, laboratory networking and tutorials.