Students to face aptitude test in medical entry overhaul

STUDENTS hoping to get into medical school straight after the Leaving Certificate under new entry methods may need a combination of up to 500 points as well as a good aptitude test score, the Irish Examiner has learned.

A task force set up by the Department of Education in 2003 to examine medical entry reform recommended a cut-off at 450 points, suggesting anyone with this score who also took a test to help measure candidate suitability should be eligible.

But it is understood that experts now finalising the details want the mark raised nearer to 500 points, with a score of around 480 likely to be picked as a compromise.

This is one of the most critical factors being considered by department officials, the Higher Education Authority and medical colleges at Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University College Cork, National University of Ireland Galway and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

The new undergraduate entry method is one of a number of steps being taken to ease pressure on Leaving Certificate medicine applicants, who needed at least 570 out of 600 points for entry last year.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin said in March the new arrangements would be in place for Leaving Cert 2009, which would mean students beginning fifth year this autumn would need to know details by September.

A Department of Education spokesperson said last night proposals to the minister on undergraduate medical school entry are in the final stages of discussion and would be completed soon.

However, sources close to discussions indicate much of the details have yet to be decided and it could be mid-September before full details can be announced.

As well as a Leaving Certificate score yet to be determined, students are also likely to need minimum grades in certain Leaving Certificate subjects for different medical schools. Under matriculation requirements for universities, some require students to have Irish and others demand at least one science subject for entry, and these conditions will probably not change.

The other major factors still to be decided are which aptitude test will be used — from a choice of tests used in Britain and Australia — and whether it is sat on a particular date or can be done online. The final significant decision to be made is how to weigh the aptitude test and Leaving Certificate to choose students.

The Union of Secondary Students (USS) welcomed plans to change the entry methods but said students going into fifth year should have been told what the requirements would be before choosing their senior cycle subjects last month.

“There are more important qualities to being a doctor than just top academic points so we’re glad these changes are being made. But it would be helpful if it was finalised before September so students know from the start what they are aiming for,” said USS president, Síobhra Aiken.

The number of places for Irish and other EU students each year is being increased from 310 to 725, to include 240 places created in medical schools for degree holders over the next four years.