Aptitude test may be fairer way of selecting medical school candidates

Medical schools that use the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) as part of their admissions process reduce the relative disadvantage faced by certain socioeconomic groups, according to a study published on bmj.com. Despite efforts to improve social mobility through access to higher education, access to the professions is still largely restricted to those from relatively advantaged backgrounds. In medicine, only around 5% of entrants have parents from a non-professional background. This desire to widen participation in medicine led to the development of the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) in 2006. It assesses skills such as verbal reasoning and decision analysis and is designed to ensure that candidates have the most appropriate mental abilities for a career in medicine. But it is still not clear whether the UKCAT has addressed this issue. So a team of researchers, led by Paul Tiffin at Durham University, set out to determine whether the use of the UKCAT in the medical schools admissions process reduces the relative disadvantage encountered by certain socioeconomic groups when applying for a place at a UK medical school.