Big data analysis: examination of the relationship between candidates' sociodemographic characteristics and performance in the UK's Membership of the Royal College of Physicians Part 1 examination.

Big datasets and data analytics enable granular analyses examining group differences in performance. Our focus is on differential attainment (DA) in postgraduate College (Board) examinations. We asked: Are candidates' sociodemographic characteristics associated with performance on the UK's Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) Part 1 after adjusting for medical school performance (MSP) and type of medical programme? This was a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 6040 medical graduates with linked sociodemographic data in the UK Medical Education Database qualifying from a UK medical school (2012-2014) and sitting MRCP Part 1 before October 2019.

Bridging the digital divide: Promoting equal access to online learning for health professions in an unequal world.

Online learning has the potential to enhance open and equitable access to medical education resources globally. Conversely, there are also concerns that it can perpetuate and exacerbate digital inequalities between developed (global North) and developing (global South) countries. In this article, we describe the historical lack of representation of the global South in the design of online medical education, as well as the resulting consequences and potential solutions.

Decreasing the options' number in multiple choice questions in the assessment of senior medical students and its effect on exam psychometrics and distractors' function.

Background: Studies that have investigated the effect options' number in MCQ tests used in the assessments of senior medical students are scarce. This study aims to compare exam psychometrics between three- and five-option MCQ tests in final-year assessments.

Methods: A cluster randomized study was applied.

Curriculum reform and trainees' perception of the pharmacy educational environment: a modified DREEM study.

Objectives: An undergraduate pharmacy curriculum reform was undertaken to meet the future healthcare demands of the people in Singapore. Understanding how educational reforms affect the learners' perceptions of the learning environment is important for quality assurance. The primary aim of this study was to investigate how pharmacy trainees perceive their educational environment before and after curriculum reform.

Household income, fetal size and birth weight: an analysis of eight populations.

Background: The age at onset of the association between poverty and poor health is not understood. Our hypothesis was that individuals from highest household income (HI), compared to those with lowest HI, will have increased fetal size in the second and third trimester and birth.

Methods: Second and third trimester fetal ultrasound measurements and birth measurements were obtained from eight cohorts.

Are there differences between those doctors who apply for a training post in Foundation Year 2 and those who take time out of the training pathway? A UK multicohort study.

Introduction: Knowledge about the career decisions of doctors in relation to specialty (residency) training is essential in terms of UK workforce planning. However, little is known about which doctors elect to progress directly from Foundation Year 2 (F2) into core/specialty/general practice training and those who instead opt for an alternative next career step.

Objective: To identify if there were any individual differences between these two groups of doctors.

Relationship between sociodemographic factors and specialty destination of UK trainee doctors: a national cohort study.

Objectives: Many countries are driving forward policies to widen the socioeconomic profile of medical students and to train more medical students for certain specialties. However, little is known about how socioeconomic origin relates to specialty choice. Nor is there a good understanding of the relationship between academic performance and specialty choice.

Geographical mobility of UK trainee doctors, from family home to first job: a national cohort study.

Background: The UK faces geographical variation in the recruitment of doctors. Understanding where medical graduates choose to go for training is important because doctors are more likely to consider practicing in areas where they completed postgraduate training. The wider literature also suggests that there is a relationship between origin and background, and where doctors wish to train/work.

Relationship between sociodemographic factors and selection into UK postgraduate medical training programmes: a national cohort study.

Introduction: Knowledge about allocation of doctors into postgraduate training programmes is essential in terms of workforce planning, transparency and equity issues. However, this is a rarely examined topic. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examines the relationships between applicants' sociodemographic characteristics and outcomes on the UK Foundation Training selection process.

Are efforts to attract graduate applicants to UK medical schools effective in increasing the participation of under-represented socioeconomic groups? A national cohort study.

Introduction: Attracting graduates was recommended as a means of diversifying the UK medical student population. Graduates now make up nearly a quarter of the total medical student population. Research to date has focused on comparing the sociodemographic characteristics of applicants to and/or students on traditional and graduate entry programmes (GEMs), yet GEMs account for only 40% of the graduate medical student population.

The relationship between school type and academic performance at medical school: a national, multi-cohort study.

Objectives: Differential attainment in school examinations is one of the barriers to increasing student diversity in medicine. However, studies on the predictive validity of prior academic achievement and educational performance at medical school are contradictory, possibly due to single-site studies or studies which focus only on early years' performance. To address these gaps, we examined the relationship between sociodemographic factors, including school type and average educational performance throughout medical school across a large number of diverse medical programmes.

Medical electives in sub-Saharan Africa: a host perspective.

Context: Electives are part of most Western medical school curricula. It is estimated that each year 3000-4000 undergraduate medical students from the UK alone undertake an elective in a developing country. The impact of these electives has given some cause for concern, but the views of elective hosts are largely missing from the debate.

Western medical students' experiences on clinical electives in sub-Saharan Africa.

Context: Electives commonly represent a valued, enjoyed and formative part of medical training. However, there is little empirical evidence about students' preparedness, practices and perceptions of medical electives in resource-poor settings. Exploring what students do, why and under what circumstances is therefore worthwhile.

Is embellishing UCAS personal statements accepted practice in applications to medicine and dentistry?

Background: The assessment of non-academic achievements through the personal statement remains part of the selection process at most UK medical and dental schools. Such statement offers applicants an opportunity to highlight their non-academic achievements, but the highly competitive nature of the process may tempt them to exaggerate their accomplishments. The challenge is that selectors cannot discern applicants' exaggerated claims from genuine accounts and the system risks preferentially selecting dishonest applicants.

The multiple mini-interview in the U.K. context: 3 years of experience at Dundee.

Background: The multiple mini-interview (MMI) is a new interview process that Dundee Medical School has recently adopted to assess entrants into its undergraduate medicine course. This involves an 'objective structured clinical examination' like rotational approach in which candidates are assessed on specific attributes at a number of stations.

Aims:  To present methodological, questionnaire and psychometric data on the transitional process from traditional interviews to MMIs over a 3-year period and discuss the implications for those considering making this transition.

Predictive validity of the personal qualities assessment for selection of medical students in Scotland.

Background: The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) was developed to enhance medical student selection by measuring a range of non-cognitive attributes in the applicants to medical school. Applicants to the five Scottish medical schools were invited to pilot the test in 2001 and 2002.

Aims: To evaluate the predictive validity of PQA for selecting medical students.