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May 15, 2008Top grades not always needed to become a doctor |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Students with average grades, who come from economically and educationally deprived areas, can do well at medical school provided they have extra academic and pastoral support during their first two years. Yet it is now acknowledged that the UK needs more doctors who better represent the diverse social and ethnic population of the country. As such, widening participation initiatives have become an important component of most UK Higher Education Institutions. The paper, written by the academics behind such an initiative at King's College London, analyses their success. To be accepted students needed to get CCC at A level, rather than the traditional AAB. Students on the EMDP course are given an extra year of studying---the first two years of the traditional five year degree are spread over three---to allow for more academic and pastoral support. Nine out of ten students so far accepted on to the EMDP programme are from ethnic minorities and just under a third (31%) from middle-class families. This compares with 51% and 76% respectively for students from "conventional" backgrounds. First time pass rates have generally been slightly lower for EMDP students, however in the clinical years (years 4--6) first time pass rates are identical for both conventional and EMDP students (93%). In an accompanying editorial, Hugh Ip and Chris McManus discuss whether the more diverse population of doctors resulting from the widening participation initiative will better serve a diverse population of patients. They also question if the £190 000 spent each year on the EMDP programme is money well spent.
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