Thousands of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed students recently found out whether they had been accepted into Australian medical schools.
Selection is a highly competitive process, requiring an impressive combination of high secondary school results (ATAR/GPA), high results on various medical admissions tests (UMAT/GAMSAT), cogent personal statements and/or performance in multiple mini interviews. Only the most successful students are selected.
As selection interviewers for an Australian medical school, one of our scripted questions was “How have you helped disadvantaged people?”. A memorable candidate began, “well, our family has a maid…”.
Other applicants told stories of well-intentioned overseas trips to help “poor people” in other countries. Strikingly, of the nearly 20 aspirants we interviewed, none told stories of socioeconomic disadvantage involving themselves, family or friends.
Although we cannot say whether these students were selected, it is likely some of them were. These well-to-do students will become the future of our medical system.
About two-thirds of Australian medical students come from affluent backgrounds. Fewer than one in ten come from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. This is unsurprising as selection criteria such as ATAR and personal statements are known to be biased against low-socioeconomic-status candidates.
Universities have created special access schemes, and tests such as the Undergraduate Medical Admissions Test (UMAT), Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT), personality tests and interviews which are supposed to reduce bias against low-socioeconomic-status candidates.
However, low-socioeconomic-status applicants are still less successful than their high-socioeconomic-status counterparts at getting into medical schools, perhaps due to the lack of access to role models, support, and opportunities necessary. Females from low socioeconomic backgrounds are the most disadvantaged.
Consequences for patients
Socioeconomic status is associated with important differences in values and beliefs.
Two families recently delivered very premature newborn babies who needed life support. If the babies survived, they were faced with a high chance of disability requiring lifetime care.
The families came from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and expressed different concerns. The parents who were struggling with money said they would not be able to afford the high costs of looking after a disabled child.
The well-off parents expressed they were worried the child’s disability was going to be so severe their child’s quality of life would not be worth putting the child through the intensive and traumatic treatments.