New Initiative to Boost Medic School Recruitment

A new advisory careers test designed to transform the recruitment of potential doctors in the UK is to be launched today to state and private school students.

The test will help address what Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, says is a dire shortage of GPs and emergency doctors in the NHS. It is aimed at 14-18 year olds to provide guidance to youngsters considering a medical career whilst they are still at school.

The 90-minute online test, called ‘Fit to be a Doctor?’ has been devised by The Medic Portal, partnered with the Royal Society of Medicine and the UK education services group, Anglo Schools International Services (ASIS) Ltd. It is also aimed at addressing the shortfalls in careers guidance, especially in the state sector, identified recently by HMI.

The new test will highlight the academic, social and communication skills required by 21st century doctors. It will analyse their ability to diagnose effectively and communicate both with patients and the wider medical team. The developers believe it is the first test of its kind on the market which gives aspiring medical students practical guidance on precisely what standards they need to reach to improve their chances in the highly competitive entry application process for medical careers.

Each test taker will receive detailed support and advice to help them improve their skills across the board, before they sit medical school entry tests. To help them further, the Royal Society is also making available to each test taker the latest research and best-practices from its video library, a resource normally reserved solely for RSM members.

Commenting on the launch, the Chairman of ASIS, Mr David Boddy, said: “This is the first in a series of careers tests specifically aimed at helping young people understand with far more clarity the requirements of the professions they are entering. With more places being made available at medical schools from 2018, we need to ensure that pupils from all backgrounds are given an equal opportunity to prepare properly with expert professional advice. “

Mr Boddy also said he hoped the test would radically overhaul support for students from the state sector who have been at a disadvantage over private school pupils where more resources are generally available to careers advisers. The test results provide a diagnostic assessment of each student which can be used by teachers to provide detailed advice as to areas for improvement.

Fit to be a doctor? will be launched on Wednesday 27thSeptember

The test is delivered via Pearson VUE technology, the partner of ASIS.