The exam performance of medical students with dyslexia: a review of the literature

Shaw, Sebastian C K; Malik, Muzaffar; Anderson, John L.

doi:10.15694/mep.2017.000116

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…As health services internationally seek to expand the diversity of their medical workforce, increasing numbers of doctors are recognised as having specific learning differences (SpLDs) such as dyslexia . In line with this, candidates, educators and regulators all seek to ensure that examinations assessing the competence of doctors, particularly high‐stakes assessments taken towards the end of lengthy and costly medical and specialty training, are fair to all candidates, including those with dyslexia …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The two past studies of undergraduate assessment in medical students also explored the performance of students with dyslexia in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) . Whereas one found no differences in performance of first‐ or second‐year medical students in a 16‐station OSCE, the other found that students with dyslexia in Years 1, 2 and 3 of undergraduate medical training had lower performance in certain types of OSCE station, including those involving examination skills and data interpretation …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 In line with this, candidates, educators and regulators all seek to ensure that examinations assessing the competence of doctors, particularly high-stakes assessments taken towards the end of lengthy and costly medical and specialty training, are fair to all candidates, including those with dyslexia. 3 Equality legislation in the UK and USA requires examination bodies to monitor performance of candidates with protected characteristics, including SpLDs, and to ensure that candidates with SpLDs are treated fairly and without disadvantage due to their disability, through the provision of reasonable adjustments or accommodations. [4][5][6] Two previous studies investigating performance of medical students in undergraduate multiple-choice tests 7,8 and a further study investigating performance of doctors in an applied knowledge test for postgraduate medical licensing of general practitioners found no significant differences in the performances of candidates who declared dyslexia compared with those who did not.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance in candidates declaring versus those not declaring dyslexia in a licensing clinical examination

et al. 2019

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Context High‐stakes medical examinations seek to be fair to all candidates, including an increasing proportion of trainee doctors with specific learning differences. We aimed to investigate the performance of doctors declaring dyslexia in the clinical skills assessment (CSA), an objective structured clinical examination for licensing UK general practitioners. Methods We employed a cross‐sectional design using performance and attribute data from candidates taking the CSA between 2010 and 2017. We compared candidates who declared dyslexia (‘early’ before their first attempt or ‘late’ after failing at least once) with those who did not, using multivariable negative binomial regression investigating the effect of declaring dyslexia on passing the CSA, accounting for relevant factors previously associated with performance, including number of attempts, initial score, sex, place of primary medical qualification and ethnicity. Results Of 20 879 CSA candidates, 598 (2.9%) declared that they had dyslexia. Candidates declaring dyslexia were more likely to be male (47.3% versus 37.8%; p < 0.001) and to have a non‐UK primary medical qualification (26.9% versus 22.4%; p < 0.01), but were no different in ethnicity compared with those who never declared dyslexia. Candidates who declared dyslexia late were significantly more likely to fail compared with those candidates who declared dyslexia early (40.6% versus 9.2%; p < 0.001) and were more likely to have a non‐UK medical qualification (79.3% versus 15.6%; p < 0.001) or come from a minority ethnic group (84.9% versus 39.2%; p < 0.001). The chance of passing was lower for candidates declaring dyslexia compared to those who never declared dyslexia and lower in those declaring late (incident rate ratio [IRR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70–0.96) compared with those declaring early (IRR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.93–0.97). Conclusions A small proportion of candidates declaring dyslexia were less likely to pass the CSA, particularly if dyslexia was declared late. Further investigation of potential causes and solutions is needed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance in candidates declaring versus those not declaring dyslexia in a licensing clinical examination

et al. 2019

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“…But this was at a cost to their experiencing less of a social life than other students. Compensations such as extra time in written exams can help students with dyslexia—as previous research has shown (Gibson & Leinster, ; McKendree & Snowling, ; Ricketts et al, ; Shaw & Anderson, ). But they also mark them out as different from the rest of their peers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…This project began with a review of the literature (Shaw & Anderson, ), the results of which have been summarized here. This was followed by an autoethnographic study (Shaw, Anderson, & Grant, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experiences of medical students with dyslexia: An interpretive phenomenological study

Shaw

Anderson

2018

Dyslexia

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This article explores the experiences of U.K. medical students with dyslexia, using an interpretive phenomenological approach. This project began with a review of the literature, highlighting a void of qualitative research. We then conducted a collaborative autoethnography. This paper forms the next stage in this series of research. We aimed to elicit meaning and understanding from the lived experiences of our participants. Eight U.K. junior doctors with dyslexia were interviewed over the telephone in an in-depth, unstructured manner. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed with the aid of a template analysis. Experiences of helplessness and hopelessness were common. These may be a result of a fear of stigmatization and personal feelings of inadequacy. They may also be fuelled by the incidents of bullying and belittling from other medical students that were reported. An important meta-theme was of fear and lack of understanding. A lack of pastoral support was also reported. Their experiences of medical school assessments are also reported. More may need to be done to educate teachers and clinical supervisors on dyslexia.

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The learning experiences of dyslexic medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological study

Shaw

Hennessy

Anderson

2021

Adv in Health Sci Educ

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Dyslexia is a Specific Learning Difficulty that impacts on reading and writing abilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools have been forced to undertake distance learning and assessment. The wider literature suggested that e-learning might pose additional challenges for dyslexic students. Here we explore their overall experiences of learning/studying during this time in a phenomenological study. Five medical students were interviewed in depth and the audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts then underwent an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Our results highlighted a largely positive experience, with an improved culture of togetherness, freedom and sense of control. They also revealed issues with a lack of clinical exposure, potential negative impacts on ranking positions for those with dyslexia, and possible cheating in exams. There are some surprising results—in particular the positive responses to how remote learning was delivered. These seemed to put our participants more on a par with their non-dyslexic colleagues—except in some examinations. It is our hope that medical educators may resist a return to ‘the way things have always been done’ when the pandemic has resolved, and by doing so, continue to foster this new, positive culture and paradigm shift.

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The exam performance of medical students with dyslexia: a review of the literature

Abstract: Introduction:

Cited by 11 publications

References 14 publications

Performance in candidates declaring versus those not declaring dyslexia in a licensing clinical examination

Performance in candidates declaring versus those not declaring dyslexia in a licensing clinical examination

The experiences of medical students with dyslexia: An interpretive phenomenological study

The learning experiences of dyslexic medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological study

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