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FEATURE: Charles George Should all medical students be graduates first? NO BMJ 2007; 335: 1073 [Full text]

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Aged, because he eats and Senility, because he breathes

Weekitt Kittisupamongkol   (25 November 2007)

Age is not synonymous with experience

Maria Ahmed   (9 December 2007)

Aged, because he eats and Senility, because he breathes 25 November 2007
Weekitt Kittisupamongkol, General Practitioner Surin Hospital, Surin 32000, Thailand Send response to journal: Re: Aged, because he eats and Senility, because he breathes	I agree with Dr. George in the debate (1) that we do not need to graduate before entering medical school. Age and Bachelor degree are not the important factor to determine whether one has success to be a good doctor. Paradigm, Attitude and Kindness, in my opinion, are the most essential ingredient. It is useless to gain an old brilliant but lack of morality doctor to practice because he would harm rather than help people. More age does not always mean more maturity. I have seen a Thai elderly politician with law degree but severely lack of maturity on public presentation. Last but not least, there is a Thai adage, “Aged, because he eats and Senility, because he breathes” Reference 1. George C. Should all medical students be graduates first? No. BMJ 2007; 335: 1073. Competing interests: None declared
Age is not synonymous with experience 9 December 2007
Maria Ahmed, Academic FY1 doctor Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester Send response to journal: Re: Age is not synonymous with experience	I find it almost quite offensive that mature medical students with / without an additional degree are presumed to have had more life experience than students entering straight from school / college. These latter students may have lost a loved one, have had to cope with mental or physical ill-health or have had to take on part-time employment to help support their family during their scholastic years: all ‘character- building’ life experiences. Consequently, they will have developed greater motivation, strengthened interpersonal skills and effective adult- learning techniques through having to juggle such curricular and extra- curricular commitments. Mandating that all medical students be graduates first may mean an additional 3-5 years of institutionalisation and another 3-5 years of accumulating debt, leaving students potentially physically and mentally drained before embarking on their preferred vocation. Medical students can learn much from each other through discussion and reflection on personal experiences; limiting Medical School entry to graduates or school-leavers only would limit the diversity of their peers and hence hinder such valuable exchange. Competing interests: None declared