Medical school choice
Medical school choice: what influences applicants? Karen Foster, Department of Medical and Dental Education, University of Aberdeen, UK
SUMMARY Background: Little is known about factors influencing applicants’ choice of medical school, yet it is important that both the academic and non-academic needs of medical students are satisfied, and that medical schools attract students suited to the courses provided. Relevant evidence suggests that there are five main factors influencing choice: curriculum; reputation of the school; personal contact; location; and facilities. Aberdeen has the particular challenge of
being the most northern medical school in the UK. Method: To address this challenge, and learning from the literature, a medical school open day was developed to showcase the medical school, the wider university and the city of Aberdeen. Results: The main messages from this small study were that interactive events were more popular than static displays, and that applicants preferred to interact with student representatives rather than just hear about
student life, suggesting that the opportunity to ask questions and hear the ‘uncensored’ version of what being a student is like are important. Discussion: There are some generalisable messages about what prospective students want from an open day, which along with the prospectus and the website can contribute to informing choice. Further work is needed to identify what is critical in terms of first point of contact, and how much this influences the choice of medical school.
It is important that that medical schools attract students suited to the courses provided
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310 307
tct_12146.indd 307
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Encounters and interactions with the medical school pre-admission are critical
INTRODUCTION
A
s well as researching the realities of a medical career, medical school applicants must decide which medical school is likely to best meet their academic and social requirements. Similarly, although all medical schools want to attract high-quality applicants, they also wish to ensure that future students are suited to the courses provided, which may differ in terms of teaching methods, class sizes, etc., in order to maximise retention and student satisfaction. Although there is little research into the factors influencing applicants’ choice of medical school, the main factors appear to be consistent across countries and period studied. Early work highlighted the importance of the general philosophy of the school, its interest in its students and its reputation,1 the school facilities, curricular emphasis and the availability of living accommodation.2 More recent work in the UK, Canada and Australia indicates that there are five main factors influencing the choice of school.3–8 • Curriculum factors: teaching methods,4 quality of teaching,5,7 research versus social orientation,6 class sizes7 and patient access.8 • Reputation of the school: both academic3,5,8 and non-academic,3 including attitude of the medical school to its students.4 • Personal contact: visits,3 interview process and recommendation of current students,3,4 and influence of partners and family.7,8
• Location: distance from home, attractiveness of the location,3–5 and extracurricular activities.4,7 • Facilities: such as large hospital and teaching centre.5
Authors noted the importance of medical schools being aware of how they are viewed by potential applicants, and communicating early, and accurately, information about both educational and noneducational aspects of the medical school.2,6,7 Although what attracts some students may not be appealing to others, it seems clear from the literature that encounters and interactions with the medical school pre-admission are critical factors in student decision making.1,2,4 Taking this into account, medical schools that are ‘disadvantaged’ on a non-educational variable, such as location, may have to work harder to ‘sell’ themselves to prospective students. Our own medical school, Aberdeen, is the most northern, and one of the most geographically, and hence socially, isolated medical schools in the UK. Despite this, applicant numbers have risen every year since 2008. Annual open days have been held since the year 2000, initially adopting a standard programme of talks and tours. Aberdeen wants to attract students best suited to our particular medical course, however, and those who are fully aware of the special features of our programme (that provides fully-integrated, systems-based,
strong community medicine experiences, with remote and rural medicine opportunities) before choosing to apply to Aberdeen. The open day is one means of addressing this challenge, and learning from the literature, a programme was designed that would provide information and experiences identified as important in student decision-making.
METHODS The open day included information on clinical and non-clinical aspects of studying medicine at Aberdeen: curriculum structure and content; teaching methods; interaction with medical students and staff; and visits to academic areas, the student social quarter and University accommodation. The special features of the programme were emphasised, and a range of hands-on clinical experiences and demonstrations were provided. An overview of the open day is provided in Box 1. The full programme was made available to visitors when they registered for the open day.
RESULTS Feedback forms were distributed to the 219 visitors, with 114
308 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310
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The talk rated most useful was that on the admission process
completed, anonymous forms received back: a 52 per cent response rate. Results for the scores on interest and usefulness of elements of the open day are given in Table 1. The talk rated most useful was that on the admission process. The sessions rated as most interesting were the career talk by an orthopaedic surgeon and the time spent in interactive clinical skills. Display stands were rated least interesting or useful, as was the formal talk on student life; however, the student ambassadors were highly rated as both interesting and useful. Visitors were asked what else they would have liked included. Responses included: more detail on the admissions process, the Aberdeen curriculum and careers after graduation; more time with current students and staff; and a tour of the primary teaching hospital.
Box 1. Overview of Aberdeen University open day programme
The majority of further comments about the open day were very positive, for example:
The 219 visitors were then divided into two groups. Group A was transported to the medical school.
• ‘An excellent open day – the best I have been to.’ • ‘Very useful and engaging. Student ambassadors were excellent.’ • ‘Open day changed ideas of where I would like to study.’
A combination of talks, tours and interactive sessions were delivered over a 6–hour period between the Old Aberdeen University campus, the Medical School and the hospital campus. The day started in Old Aberdeen, with talks about teaching methods employed and the structure and content of the curriculum, the admissions process and a flavour of medical student life from two student representatives.
Group–A applicants experienced a 1.5–hour interactive, hands-on session in the Clinical Skills Centre, rotating around stations that included keyhole surgery, suturing, manikins, anatomical models, radiology, an Accident and Emergency (A&E) trauma demonstration and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Accompanying parents had a tour of the medical school led by student ambassadors, with the opportunity to question staff. Group B remained in Old Aberdeen and had a tour of the University facilities on that campus.
• ‘Really enjoyed the day. Makes Aberdeen one of my top choices.’
Both groups came together in the early afternoon to hear ‘Careers in Medicine’ talks from a senior general practitioner and a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. Group B then remained in the Medical School for the interactive session, and group A was transported back to the Old Aberdeen campus for a tour.
• ‘Thank you, this open day has persuaded me to apply to Aberdeen.’
Display stands at the medical school and the distribution of MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery) prospectuses provided written information to supplement the talks.
Costs of the day included transport, catering and payment for the student ambassadors. At £1742 ($A 2600; $US 2690), this equated to approximately £8 per visitor ($A 11.94; $US 12.35), which was considered a reasonable investment given the importance of these events in attracting students.
DISCUSSION The open day was designed to give potential applicants experience of the city and the university, as well as experience of studying medicine at Aberdeen. The main messages from this small study were that interactive activities were more popular
than static displays, and suggestions on how to develop the day further focused on more ‘medical matters’ rather than lifestyle, even though lifestyle is known to be important in decision-making. High ‘interest’ and ‘usefulness’ ratings are reassuring, but it remains unclear why these
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310 309
tct_12146.indd 309
5/31/2014 3:48:47 AM
Suggestions on how to develop the day further focused on more ‘medical matters’ rather than lifestyle
REFERENCES
Table 1. Interest and usefulness scores Average score out of a maximum of 5 Interest Usefulness
1.
Halstead LS, Geertsma RH. The evaluation and selection of a medical school: a student perspective. Br J Med Educ 1973;7:94–99.
Medicine at Aberdeen presentation
4.4
4.4
2.
Admission to medicine
4.3
4.6
Student life talk
3.8
3.8
Medicine career talk 1 – GP
4.5
4.3
Roath S, Miller ED, Kilpatrick GS, Hudson G, Dallas-Ross P, Biran L. Factors influencing students’ choice of medical schools. Med Educ 1977; 11:319–323.
3.
Medicine career talk 2 – orthopaedic surgeon
4.7
4.4
Interactive clinical skills session
4.7
4.4
Display stands
3.7
3.8
McManus IC, Winder BC, Sproston KA, Styles VA, Richards P. Why do medical school applicants apply to particular schools? Med Educ 1993;27:116–123.
Student ambassadors
4.2
4.5
4.
Adams T, Garden A. What influences medical school choice? Med Teach 2006;28:83–85.
5.
Cleland J, Johnston PW, French FH, Needham G. Associations between medical school and career preferences in Year 1 medical students in Scotland. Med Educ 2012;46:473–484.
6.
Maheux B, Beland F, Pineault R, Rivest P, Valois L. Do conventional and innovative medical schools recruit different students? Med Educ 1989;23:30–38.
7.
Mihalynuk T, Snadden D, Bates J, Scott I, Frinton V, Wilson G. Size matters: what influences medical students’ choice of study site? Med Teach 2008;30:e108–e114.
8.
Krahe LM, McColl AR, Pallant JF, Cunningham CE, DeWitt DE. A multi-university study of which factors medical students consider when deciding to attend a rural clinical school in Australia. Rural Remote Health 2010;10: 1477.
components were perceived to be useful, whether attendees increased their understanding of the course on offer at Aberdeen, which factors actually influenced a decision to apply to Aberdeen and at what point that decision was made. On this occasion feedback was anonymous, so cannot be linked to future applications. In future, our open day feedback questionnaires will ask for student identification (to allow for longer term follow-up), more detail on what is important in terms of the format and content of open days, and how much this influences the choice of medical school application.
More widely, further work is needed to identify what is critical in terms of first point of contact (e.g. online and written information), as well as subsequent contact (e.g. open days and interview experiences). This was a report of one event at one medical school; however, we believe that grounding the format and content of the day in the available literature enables some generalisable messages about what prospective students want from an open day. It cannot provide all the information applicants require when making a decision about medical school, but along with the prospectus, website and interview experience, can contribute to informing choice.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Dr Karen Foster, Division of Medical and Dental Education, University of Aberdeen, Polwarth Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: None. Conflict of interest: None to declare. Ethical approval: The chairman of the college Ethics Review Board confirmed that this was not research and therefore ethical review was not required. I complied with all research governance standards of data collection, management and protection. The head of the School of Medicine and Dentistry has confirmed that this information is not commercially sensitive. doi: 10.1111/tct.12146
310 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310
tct_12146.indd 310
5/31/2014 3:48:48 AM
Medical school choice: what influences applicants? Karen Foster, Department of Medical and Dental Education, University of Aberdeen, UK
SUMMARY Background: Little is known about factors influencing applicants’ choice of medical school, yet it is important that both the academic and non-academic needs of medical students are satisfied, and that medical schools attract students suited to the courses provided. Relevant evidence suggests that there are five main factors influencing choice: curriculum; reputation of the school; personal contact; location; and facilities. Aberdeen has the particular challenge of
being the most northern medical school in the UK. Method: To address this challenge, and learning from the literature, a medical school open day was developed to showcase the medical school, the wider university and the city of Aberdeen. Results: The main messages from this small study were that interactive events were more popular than static displays, and that applicants preferred to interact with student representatives rather than just hear about
student life, suggesting that the opportunity to ask questions and hear the ‘uncensored’ version of what being a student is like are important. Discussion: There are some generalisable messages about what prospective students want from an open day, which along with the prospectus and the website can contribute to informing choice. Further work is needed to identify what is critical in terms of first point of contact, and how much this influences the choice of medical school.
It is important that that medical schools attract students suited to the courses provided
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310 307
tct_12146.indd 307
5/31/2014 3:48:45 AM
Encounters and interactions with the medical school pre-admission are critical
INTRODUCTION
A
s well as researching the realities of a medical career, medical school applicants must decide which medical school is likely to best meet their academic and social requirements. Similarly, although all medical schools want to attract high-quality applicants, they also wish to ensure that future students are suited to the courses provided, which may differ in terms of teaching methods, class sizes, etc., in order to maximise retention and student satisfaction. Although there is little research into the factors influencing applicants’ choice of medical school, the main factors appear to be consistent across countries and period studied. Early work highlighted the importance of the general philosophy of the school, its interest in its students and its reputation,1 the school facilities, curricular emphasis and the availability of living accommodation.2 More recent work in the UK, Canada and Australia indicates that there are five main factors influencing the choice of school.3–8 • Curriculum factors: teaching methods,4 quality of teaching,5,7 research versus social orientation,6 class sizes7 and patient access.8 • Reputation of the school: both academic3,5,8 and non-academic,3 including attitude of the medical school to its students.4 • Personal contact: visits,3 interview process and recommendation of current students,3,4 and influence of partners and family.7,8
• Location: distance from home, attractiveness of the location,3–5 and extracurricular activities.4,7 • Facilities: such as large hospital and teaching centre.5
Authors noted the importance of medical schools being aware of how they are viewed by potential applicants, and communicating early, and accurately, information about both educational and noneducational aspects of the medical school.2,6,7 Although what attracts some students may not be appealing to others, it seems clear from the literature that encounters and interactions with the medical school pre-admission are critical factors in student decision making.1,2,4 Taking this into account, medical schools that are ‘disadvantaged’ on a non-educational variable, such as location, may have to work harder to ‘sell’ themselves to prospective students. Our own medical school, Aberdeen, is the most northern, and one of the most geographically, and hence socially, isolated medical schools in the UK. Despite this, applicant numbers have risen every year since 2008. Annual open days have been held since the year 2000, initially adopting a standard programme of talks and tours. Aberdeen wants to attract students best suited to our particular medical course, however, and those who are fully aware of the special features of our programme (that provides fully-integrated, systems-based,
strong community medicine experiences, with remote and rural medicine opportunities) before choosing to apply to Aberdeen. The open day is one means of addressing this challenge, and learning from the literature, a programme was designed that would provide information and experiences identified as important in student decision-making.
METHODS The open day included information on clinical and non-clinical aspects of studying medicine at Aberdeen: curriculum structure and content; teaching methods; interaction with medical students and staff; and visits to academic areas, the student social quarter and University accommodation. The special features of the programme were emphasised, and a range of hands-on clinical experiences and demonstrations were provided. An overview of the open day is provided in Box 1. The full programme was made available to visitors when they registered for the open day.
RESULTS Feedback forms were distributed to the 219 visitors, with 114
308 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310
tct_12146.indd 308
5/31/2014 3:48:46 AM
The talk rated most useful was that on the admission process
completed, anonymous forms received back: a 52 per cent response rate. Results for the scores on interest and usefulness of elements of the open day are given in Table 1. The talk rated most useful was that on the admission process. The sessions rated as most interesting were the career talk by an orthopaedic surgeon and the time spent in interactive clinical skills. Display stands were rated least interesting or useful, as was the formal talk on student life; however, the student ambassadors were highly rated as both interesting and useful. Visitors were asked what else they would have liked included. Responses included: more detail on the admissions process, the Aberdeen curriculum and careers after graduation; more time with current students and staff; and a tour of the primary teaching hospital.
Box 1. Overview of Aberdeen University open day programme
The majority of further comments about the open day were very positive, for example:
The 219 visitors were then divided into two groups. Group A was transported to the medical school.
• ‘An excellent open day – the best I have been to.’ • ‘Very useful and engaging. Student ambassadors were excellent.’ • ‘Open day changed ideas of where I would like to study.’
A combination of talks, tours and interactive sessions were delivered over a 6–hour period between the Old Aberdeen University campus, the Medical School and the hospital campus. The day started in Old Aberdeen, with talks about teaching methods employed and the structure and content of the curriculum, the admissions process and a flavour of medical student life from two student representatives.
Group–A applicants experienced a 1.5–hour interactive, hands-on session in the Clinical Skills Centre, rotating around stations that included keyhole surgery, suturing, manikins, anatomical models, radiology, an Accident and Emergency (A&E) trauma demonstration and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Accompanying parents had a tour of the medical school led by student ambassadors, with the opportunity to question staff. Group B remained in Old Aberdeen and had a tour of the University facilities on that campus.
• ‘Really enjoyed the day. Makes Aberdeen one of my top choices.’
Both groups came together in the early afternoon to hear ‘Careers in Medicine’ talks from a senior general practitioner and a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. Group B then remained in the Medical School for the interactive session, and group A was transported back to the Old Aberdeen campus for a tour.
• ‘Thank you, this open day has persuaded me to apply to Aberdeen.’
Display stands at the medical school and the distribution of MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery) prospectuses provided written information to supplement the talks.
Costs of the day included transport, catering and payment for the student ambassadors. At £1742 ($A 2600; $US 2690), this equated to approximately £8 per visitor ($A 11.94; $US 12.35), which was considered a reasonable investment given the importance of these events in attracting students.
DISCUSSION The open day was designed to give potential applicants experience of the city and the university, as well as experience of studying medicine at Aberdeen. The main messages from this small study were that interactive activities were more popular
than static displays, and suggestions on how to develop the day further focused on more ‘medical matters’ rather than lifestyle, even though lifestyle is known to be important in decision-making. High ‘interest’ and ‘usefulness’ ratings are reassuring, but it remains unclear why these
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310 309
tct_12146.indd 309
5/31/2014 3:48:47 AM
Suggestions on how to develop the day further focused on more ‘medical matters’ rather than lifestyle
REFERENCES
Table 1. Interest and usefulness scores Average score out of a maximum of 5 Interest Usefulness
1.
Halstead LS, Geertsma RH. The evaluation and selection of a medical school: a student perspective. Br J Med Educ 1973;7:94–99.
Medicine at Aberdeen presentation
4.4
4.4
2.
Admission to medicine
4.3
4.6
Student life talk
3.8
3.8
Medicine career talk 1 – GP
4.5
4.3
Roath S, Miller ED, Kilpatrick GS, Hudson G, Dallas-Ross P, Biran L. Factors influencing students’ choice of medical schools. Med Educ 1977; 11:319–323.
3.
Medicine career talk 2 – orthopaedic surgeon
4.7
4.4
Interactive clinical skills session
4.7
4.4
Display stands
3.7
3.8
McManus IC, Winder BC, Sproston KA, Styles VA, Richards P. Why do medical school applicants apply to particular schools? Med Educ 1993;27:116–123.
Student ambassadors
4.2
4.5
4.
Adams T, Garden A. What influences medical school choice? Med Teach 2006;28:83–85.
5.
Cleland J, Johnston PW, French FH, Needham G. Associations between medical school and career preferences in Year 1 medical students in Scotland. Med Educ 2012;46:473–484.
6.
Maheux B, Beland F, Pineault R, Rivest P, Valois L. Do conventional and innovative medical schools recruit different students? Med Educ 1989;23:30–38.
7.
Mihalynuk T, Snadden D, Bates J, Scott I, Frinton V, Wilson G. Size matters: what influences medical students’ choice of study site? Med Teach 2008;30:e108–e114.
8.
Krahe LM, McColl AR, Pallant JF, Cunningham CE, DeWitt DE. A multi-university study of which factors medical students consider when deciding to attend a rural clinical school in Australia. Rural Remote Health 2010;10: 1477.
components were perceived to be useful, whether attendees increased their understanding of the course on offer at Aberdeen, which factors actually influenced a decision to apply to Aberdeen and at what point that decision was made. On this occasion feedback was anonymous, so cannot be linked to future applications. In future, our open day feedback questionnaires will ask for student identification (to allow for longer term follow-up), more detail on what is important in terms of the format and content of open days, and how much this influences the choice of medical school application.
More widely, further work is needed to identify what is critical in terms of first point of contact (e.g. online and written information), as well as subsequent contact (e.g. open days and interview experiences). This was a report of one event at one medical school; however, we believe that grounding the format and content of the day in the available literature enables some generalisable messages about what prospective students want from an open day. It cannot provide all the information applicants require when making a decision about medical school, but along with the prospectus, website and interview experience, can contribute to informing choice.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Dr Karen Foster, Division of Medical and Dental Education, University of Aberdeen, Polwarth Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: None. Conflict of interest: None to declare. Ethical approval: The chairman of the college Ethics Review Board confirmed that this was not research and therefore ethical review was not required. I complied with all research governance standards of data collection, management and protection. The head of the School of Medicine and Dentistry has confirmed that this information is not commercially sensitive. doi: 10.1111/tct.12146
310 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 307–310
tct_12146.indd 310
5/31/2014 3:48:48 AM
