South African medical schools: Current state of selection criteria and medical students’ demographic profile

Merwe, Lynette J. van der; Zyl, G J van; Gibson, Andrew S.; Viljoen, M. F.; Iputo, Jehu; Mammen, M.; Chitha, Wezile; Perez, Alexander; Hartman, Nadia; Fonn, Sharon; Green-Thompson, Lionel; Ayo-Ysuf, O A; Botha, Gerda C.; Manning, Dianne; Botha, Stephani; Hift, Richard; Retief, P.J.M.; Heerden, B. B. Van; Volmink, Jimmy

doi:10.7196/samj.2016.v106i1.9913

Cited by 50 publications

(68 citation statements)

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“…28 Studies 7,9,27 have already indicated that medical students are, for the most part, proportionately whiter than the population. The situation is different, for example, than that of South Africa 29 and Colombia, 30 where the profile of medical students is closer to the ethnic distribution of the general population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Reasons for choosing the profession and profile of newly qualified physicians in Brazil

Scheffer

Guilloux

Poz

et al. 2016

Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras.

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Reasons foR choosing the pRofession and pRofile of newly qualified physicians in BRazil rev assoc Med Bras 2016; 62(9):853-861 853 ORIGINAL ARTICLEReasons for choosing the profession and profile of newly qualified physicians in Brazil Objective: To evaluate the socio-demographic profile, path to medical school admission and factors affecting the choice of becoming a physician in Brazil.Method: Application of a structured questionnaire to 4,601 participants among the 16,323 physicians who graduated between 2014 and 2015 that subsequently registered with one of the 27 Regional Boards of Medicine (CRMs). Results:The average age of participants is 27 years, 77.2% are white, 57% come from families with a monthly income greater than ten times the minimum wage, 65% have fathers who have completed higher education, 79.1% attended a private high school, and 63.5% selected the "will to make a difference in people's lives or do good" as their main reason for choosing medicine, with some differences between the sexes and matriculation at a public or private medical school. Conclusion:The recent politics for educational diversity and the opening of additional medical schools has not yet had an impact on the socio-demographic profile of graduates, who are mainly white, wealthy individuals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Reasons for choosing the profession and profile of newly qualified physicians in Brazil

Scheffer

Guilloux

Poz

et al. 2016

Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras.

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“…Currently, South African training institutions use race as a proxy for social accountability to enable universities to meet training number goals with the expectation that this will assist in achieving socially responsible needs for the country. 35 South African medical schools use both academic and non-academic criteria when reviewing applicants. The NRMSM selects students based on identifiable markers such as race and socioeconomic background to mirror the general population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intention Matters: Future medical student practice intentions vary by cohort

Clithero-Eridon¹,

Crandall²,

Ross

2020

Preprint

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Background: Primary care is a broad spectrum specialty that can serve both urban and rural populations. It is important to examine the specialties students are selecting to enter, future community size they intend to practice in as well as whether they intend to remain in the communities in which they trained.Aim: The goals of this study were to characterize the background and career aspirations of medical students. Objectives were to (1) explore whether there are points in time during training that may affect career goals and (2) assess how students' background and stated motivations for choosing medicine as a career related to intended professional practice.Setting: The setting for this study was the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, located in Durban, South Africa.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 597 NRMSM medical students in their first, fourth, or sixth-year studies during the 2017 academic year.Results: Our findings show a noticeable lack of interest in primary care, and in particular, family medicine amongst graduating students. Altruism is not as motivating a factor for practicing medicine as it was among students beginning their education.Conclusion: Selection of students into medical school should consider personal characteristics such as background and career motivation. Once students are selected, local context matters for training to sustain motivation. Selection of students most likely to practice primary care, then emphasizing family medicine and community immersion with underserved populations, can assist in building health workforce capacity.

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“…A recent report provides the findings of a South African Committee of Medical Deans workshop on student selection held on 5 June 2014 (Van der Merwe et al, 2016). The presentations made in that forum reflect current thinking and practice, and while each of the eight medical schools has its own policy, common features are apparent (Table 3.1).…”

Section: Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconceptualising Health Professions Education in South Africa

2018

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Reproduction is permitted, provided the source and publisher are appropriately acknowledged. The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) was inaugurated in May 1996. It was formed in response to the need for an Academy of Science consonant with the dawn of democracy in South Africa: activist in its mission of using science and scholarship for the benefit of society, with a mandate encompassing all scholarly disciplines that use an open-minded and evidence-based approach to build knowledge. ASSAf thus adopted in its name the term 'science' in the singular as reflecting a common way of enquiring rather than an aggregation of different disciplines. Its Members are elected on the basis of a combination of two principal criteria, academic excellence and significant contributions to society.

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South African medical schools: Current state of selection criteria and medical students’ demographic profile

Abstract: Selection policies for undergraduate medical programmes aimed at redress should be continued and further refined, along with the provision of support to ensure student success.

Cited by 50 publications

References 9 publications

Reasons for choosing the profession and profile of newly qualified physicians in Brazil

Reasons for choosing the profession and profile of newly qualified physicians in Brazil

Intention Matters: Future medical student practice intentions vary by cohort

Reconceptualising Health Professions Education in South Africa

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