Multiple mini-interview scores of medical school applicants with and without rural attributes.
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INTRODUCTION: Students from rural areas are under-represented in medical schools. Concerns have been raised about rural applicants' qualifications relative to those of their urban counterparts, and the impact such potential differences in competitiveness may have on their under-representation. Although studies have reported no differences in Grade Point Average (GPA) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores between applicants with and without rural attributes, to date no study has assessed if performance on the multiple mini-interview (MMI) varies between the two groups. METHODS: The MMI scores of 1257 interviewees for admission to the MD program at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, in years 2008 to 2011, were studied for an association with graduation from a rural high school and attributes in the following three domains: rural connections, employment in rural areas, and rural community service. RESULTS: There were 205 (16.3%) rural high school graduates among interviewed applicants. Rural high school graduates scored significantly lower (mean of 4.4 on a scale of 1 to 7; p < 0.05) than urban high school graduates (4.6). Among rural-attribute domains, those with rural community service alone had the highest MMI scores (4.9) while those with rural connections alone had the lowest scores (4.3; p = 0.016). After adjusting for demographics, GPA, and MCAT scores in a multiple linear regression model, rural-attribute domains were not significant predictors of an applicant's MMI score. However, graduation from a rural high school was significantly associated with decreased MMI scores (a 0.122 decrease in predicted MMI scores on a scale of 1 to 7). CONCLUSION: Despite graduates from rural and urban high schools having comparable GPA, there exists a rural-urban divide in MMI scores that could exacerbate the under-representation of rural students in medical schools. Aboriginal applicants can also potentially be disproportionately affected, as they were more often from rural high schools than from urban high schools. Future studies need to determine systematic and institutional reasons, if any, for the differential in MMI scoring that can affect admission decisions for some rural applicants. It is also to be noted that the magnitude of difference is small enough that it may ultimately be irrelevant for future physician performance and practitioner outcomes. (+info)
Graduating pharmacy students' perspectives on e-professionalism and social media.
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Evaluation of the experiences of trainees seeking employment after completion of their vocational training.
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Two thousand questionnaires were sent to doctors receiving a certificate of prescribed or equivalent experience from the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice over a two-year period. More than 1,400 forms were returned.Seventeen per cent of respondents from 1982 experienced unemployment on completion of their vocational training and this figure had almost doubled by 1983. Some groups of people experienced more problems than others in finding employment but most respondents eventually found a post in which they were happy. Likewise, approval periods and parity varied considerably, and the majority of respondents appeared satisfied with what they achieved. (+info)
Make an application for flexible (part time) training.
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Part time training posts are advertised in the BMJ each year in August or September in an advertisement placed by the Department of Health. Although the advertisement is placed by the department and manpower approvals are allocated centrally, each region runs its own scheme, and the first person to approach is the regional postgraduate dean (most regions have an assistant dean responsible for flexible training). If an application is successful then part time trainees are interviewed by the same appointments committee as full time applicants and they are judged by the same criteria. Manpower approval is granted to applicants who reach the same standard as full time applicants, but there may be a waiting list if there are more suitable applicants than training places available. The next stage is to gain educational approval from the relevant higher training committee for the proposed training programme, followed by funding from the region. (+info)
Work in the European Union.
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Continental Europe is now only 20 minutes away by train from mainland Britain, and moving ever closer politically. Mutual recognition of medical qualifications within the European Union is well established: working in other parts of Europe is, in principle, straightforward. Working in different health care systems can offer new perspectives on British medical practice and the NHS. But the cultural differences are not always easy to overcome. (+info)