nandayo
ismist
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2006
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- 252
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- HSC
- 2008
Harriet Alexander Higher Education Reporter
July 5, 2006
PAULA NORAMBUENA, who has dreamt of being a doctor since she was seven, would not have made it into medicine if she had applied a year earlier.
Her University Admissions Index score of 96.9 in her HSC was well below the previous cut-off for medicine of 99.7.
But Ms Norambuena happened to finish school in time for a new system of medical student selection at the University of NSW, which chooses them on the basis of interviews as well as exam marks.
She is now in her fourth year and at the forefront of a new wave of students, upon whom educators have pinned their hopes for a generation of communicative, motivated and engaged doctors. The interview process ensures that students who are not interested stay out.
"Every staff member I met, every teacher, they said that they were interested in us and that we were like a different breed," Ms Norambuena said.
Already it seems the experiment is paying off.
Rakesh Kumar, a pathology professor who has interviewed the students every year since the system was introduced, said the 2003 intake was markedly different from its predecessors.
"What's perfectly clear is that we now have students who are much more willing to get engaged in the learning process. They're much more willing to ask questions and get involved.
"It's done us some real good in getting active, interested, good communicators, [who are] just as bright."
The students are asked about their childhood and their interest in medicine.
Sometimes interviews reveal candidates who are not interested in medicine at all but under pressure from their parents to apply.
He remembered one boy who had revealed within three minutes that he did not want to study medicine, while his mother was sitting outside the interview room.
"He was very happy to be in an environment where he could explain that he wasn't really interested in this at all," Professor Kumar said.
Research from Newcastle University, which pioneered the combined marks-interview selection process, showed that students chosen on this basis were more likely to perform well than those chosen solely on marks.
Sydney University, which only teaches medicine to students who already have another degree, will begin a new interview process next year. Each candidate will face eight interviewers, spending 10 minutes with each, and will be asked to argue a position on various health policy issues.
David Tiller, a professor in medicine who tested the system last year, said the aim was a more consistent selection process. But he could not guarantee those chosen would be better doctors.
"A lot of people would like the interview to [predict] whether they're going to be a good doctor or not, and we can't tell," Professor Tiller said.
"What we can gauge is whether people will do well in the course. Can they think on their feet? Do they think about doctors in society? Do they have an ethical background? Can they decide what's honest and dishonest?"
End Quote...interesting..
July 5, 2006
PAULA NORAMBUENA, who has dreamt of being a doctor since she was seven, would not have made it into medicine if she had applied a year earlier.
Her University Admissions Index score of 96.9 in her HSC was well below the previous cut-off for medicine of 99.7.
But Ms Norambuena happened to finish school in time for a new system of medical student selection at the University of NSW, which chooses them on the basis of interviews as well as exam marks.
She is now in her fourth year and at the forefront of a new wave of students, upon whom educators have pinned their hopes for a generation of communicative, motivated and engaged doctors. The interview process ensures that students who are not interested stay out.
"Every staff member I met, every teacher, they said that they were interested in us and that we were like a different breed," Ms Norambuena said.
Already it seems the experiment is paying off.
Rakesh Kumar, a pathology professor who has interviewed the students every year since the system was introduced, said the 2003 intake was markedly different from its predecessors.
"What's perfectly clear is that we now have students who are much more willing to get engaged in the learning process. They're much more willing to ask questions and get involved.
"It's done us some real good in getting active, interested, good communicators, [who are] just as bright."
The students are asked about their childhood and their interest in medicine.
Sometimes interviews reveal candidates who are not interested in medicine at all but under pressure from their parents to apply.
He remembered one boy who had revealed within three minutes that he did not want to study medicine, while his mother was sitting outside the interview room.
"He was very happy to be in an environment where he could explain that he wasn't really interested in this at all," Professor Kumar said.
Research from Newcastle University, which pioneered the combined marks-interview selection process, showed that students chosen on this basis were more likely to perform well than those chosen solely on marks.
Sydney University, which only teaches medicine to students who already have another degree, will begin a new interview process next year. Each candidate will face eight interviewers, spending 10 minutes with each, and will be asked to argue a position on various health policy issues.
David Tiller, a professor in medicine who tested the system last year, said the aim was a more consistent selection process. But he could not guarantee those chosen would be better doctors.
"A lot of people would like the interview to [predict] whether they're going to be a good doctor or not, and we can't tell," Professor Tiller said.
"What we can gauge is whether people will do well in the course. Can they think on their feet? Do they think about doctors in society? Do they have an ethical background? Can they decide what's honest and dishonest?"
End Quote...interesting..
