TIME FOR A REVIEW OF ADMISSION TO MEDICAL-SCHOOL

Appropriate selection of medical students is a fundamental prerequisit e if medical schools are to produce competent and caring doctors. The selection criteria for entry to the medical degree course at the Unive rsity of Newcastle, New South Wales, are unique in Australia. The purp ose of this study was to identify admission criteria that may predict performance in the first postgraduate (intern) year. Performance ratin gs were obtained from the clinical supervisors of two graduating class es of Newcastle University medical students during their five terms in internship (first postgraduate year). At least one rating was obtaine d for 93% of interns. A subset analysis of interns with multiple ratin gs (57%) showed that combining previous study in both humanities and s cience before medical school entry was predictive of higher intern per formance ratings. These interns were rate more favourably than those w ho had earlier studied science alone. Moreover, students who had earli er studied both humanities and science were twice as likely to complet e their medical degree as those who had studied science alone. Age, ge nder, admission interview results, written psychometric test scores, a cademic marks, and whether previous tertiary study had been undertaken prior to medical school entry were not predictive of intern performan ce ratings. Subject spread, including a background in humanities, is i mportant for effective medical practice, at least in the immediate pos tgraduate period. Perhaps it is time to evaluate the admission criteri a by which medical students are selected.