Why is it so hard to consider personal qualities when selecting medical students?

Abstract

Having ‘good’ doctors is important to everybody. How to select medical students better has been discussed repeatedly for more than seventy years, implying that prevailing methods could be improved. A significant body of research exists about selection methods and their application in medicine. Yet most medical schools world-wide continue to use prior academic performance and cognitive ability as their major criteria for selection, with minor or no consideration of personal qualities and interpersonal skills (possibly assuming they will develop naturally during training and practice). We describe the main methods available for assessing personal qualities of applicants to medical school and have attempted to identify some reasons and systemic disincentives working against their adoption.

Acknowledgements

The authors are deeply indebted to Dr. Jane Adam, Associate Dean for Admissions, Hull York Medical School, UK (2003–2011) for her substantial comments on various drafts of this article.

Disclosure statement

Miles Bore, Don Munro and David Powis are the originators and developers of the Personal Qualities Assessment battery of tests and receive royalty payments when PQA is used commercially. Diann Eley has no conflict of interest to declare.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David Powis

David Powis, BSc, PhD, has been a university teacher of, and researcher in, Physiology and Medical Education since 1972. Over the past three decades he has worked particularly in the area of medical student selection with the aim of establishing appropriate strategy for selecting students for health professional courses. He is a foundation member of the PQA development group.

Don Munro

Don Munro, MA, PhD, has been a researcher and teacher of personality and psychological measurement since the 1960s, and a member of the PQA development group since its inception in 1997.

Miles Bore

Miles Bore, BA(Psyc)Hons, PhD, was an Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Newcastle, Australia, until his retirement in July 2019. He has published across several areas including the selection of medical students and student well-being. He is currently a Conjoint Associate Professor at Newcastle and member of the PQA development group.

Diann Eley

Diann Eley, PhD, MSc, FHEA, is the Director of MD Research and Research Training in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. She leads the medical student research program and the Clinician Scientist Track that encourages student interest and experience in research.