The Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences said to me that having interviews for applicants to medical school is too time-consuming! This, of course, is, in my opinion, one of the many reasons why the medical school here probably needs to wait for 2020 to attain First World status (if it is at all possible by that time).

Now, what is the situation in the US and the UK?As admission to medical school abroad has become more competitive, interviews have become commonplace. In fact, in some medical schools it is also required to submit an admissions essay. The committee on admission takes seriously its charge of choosing future physicians, who will contribute positively to the world’s community of healthcare practitioners, and who, hopefully, will embrace and adopt charity and compassion as their professional priority and not money (in spite of living in today’s materialistic and hedonistic society). It once used to be so, you know.

The selection of students is made after careful consideration of many aspects: emotional and professional maturity, academic achievement, community service, indicators of responsibility, and motivation. Communication skills are noted, including speaking, reading and writing, as well as observational skills. The applicant is also expected to be able to tolerate taxing workloads, function effectively under stress, adapt to changing environments, and learn to function rationally in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of any patient. Letters of recommendation regarding the applicant’s personal qualities and character are also required.

Among the questions, which applicants may be asked are: why do they want to be a doctor, what will they do if they are not accepted to medical school, what makes them special, what is the most pressing problem facing medicine today, what do they feel are the most important qualities in being a good doctor, what are their hobbies, whether they think they are leaders or followers, what exposure have they had to the medical profession, and what do they like least about medicine?

The applicants may also expect questions concerning what they think about ethics and healthcare (e.g. about abortion, cloning, euthanasia, et cetera). Meanwhile, the interviewer also looks for a self-confident personality, conservative dress, enquires about the hobbies of the applicant, their career goals, what do they do in their spare time, and what are their strengths and weaknesses. As you see, the interview is thorough and discerning and falls just short of a psychiatric assessment!

Now, at the beginning of the 20th century, many colleges and universities had a broad educational mission, namely, ’to develop the whole student,’ and on college campuses extracurricular activity is considered to be a key tool in personal development. For example, musicians and athletes frequently show discipline and also teamwork through their respective activities. It is believed that such activities complement the university’s academic curriculum and augment the student’s educational experience.

Indeed, I am a strong advocate of the importance of extracurricular activity in choosing applicants to any university faculty. The value of this and also of the importance of maturity is perhaps best exemplified by the Jamaican campus of the University of the West Indies, which recently accepted a retired 50-year-old judge to medical school. That sort of background may be just what the doctor ordered.

So said, in the US the mean age of first year medial students today is about 24 years (which indeed is the age when I entered medical school), although ten per cent are 27 years old. In fact, medical schools now routinely admit students in their 30s or 40s, some of whom already have families. These students are welcomed into the profession there as they bring maturity, diversity, a broader perspective and also life experiences. It is also claimed by some deans that older students tend to ask smarter questions and challenge assumptions. On the other hand, admittedly, there are many students, who are relatively mature at a younger age, especially if they are exposed to an environment of highly educated parents and siblings.

Previous research experience is also important as it engages in critical thinking, develops an appreciation for how good research is done, and gains skills in working in a team environment. However, such an experience is unlikely to be found in young A-level students and this perhaps may be but one factor to explain the sorry dearth of quality research of international standard emanating from the UWI’s Faculty of Medical Sciences.

These characteristics are important for admission to medical school. But here lies the rub. All this also calls for a mature, highly qualified, and experienced medical school admissions committee, which, in my opinion, should also include very respected and wise elders from certain other faculties, for example, the social sciences and other departments of the humanities. Without such a calibred committee, the whole process is useless and one might as well put the names of all the applicants into a hat and pull out the successful ones as they do in the lottery.

But then again, the dean says that interviews are too time-consuming.

Presumably, so also thinks the principal! And so