Men should be encouraged to apply to medical school
BMJ 2002; 325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7355.66/b (Published 13 July 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:66
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In Italy we do not have any selection panel to enter medical school,
the only thing that counts is your high chool score and your entrance test
to the medical school itself. And still womens are more the mens, even
that I don't know the exact figures.
So I think that in the end it is more a fact of money, and of time that it
takes to complete the medical studies before getting a position.
And yes, I agree that in the future it could take to some problems.
Competing interests: No competing interests
One comment within your article regarding declining numbers of male
Medical Students was that "more women get in than men and they do better.
Should we lower standards? I don’t think so."
Can you imagine if a male-dominated law firm, when asked about
inequality, responded "we have more men than women and they do a better
job. Why lower the standards?"
Bias, in all its forms, is certainly worth a closer look.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Male recruitment to medicine in the UK may be down, as it is in many
walks of life, because of the perception that doctors earn less than men
working in finance and the City. We know from recent cases that men do
much better than women there, unfairly in my view and that of many courts
and tribunals. But of course, the published pay scales tell only a part
of the story for many areas of medicine and surgery. Perhaps medicine
should do more to promote the exchange of information about the total
earnings of different groups of doctors in different parts of the country,
so that the males, who may be more income oriented that females, sit up
and take notice. Shared information between public and private sectors
could have all kinds of other benefits around quality of care, record
keeping and management, if medicine and surgery are prepared to accept a
more open attitude to information.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Anabel Ferriman's report on the recent BMA annual meeting highlights
the marked skew in favour of women in selection for medical shcools.
Reasons given for this are various (including 1)academic performance,
2)candidacy by CV, and 3)"[looking] better in person at interview!)but do
not include the panels that select these students.
My impression of selection panels when applying for medical school
(1991) and subsequent junior hospital posts is that they are
overwhelmingly male. Could this not have a significant effect on candidate
selection, especially pertaining to the third cited selection "criteria"?
Competing interests: No competing interests
No kidding
Let us not kid ourselves! Good marks from any secondary school system
does not necessarily make a person become a good doctor! Often the
"professorial" types become too theoretical and far removed from the
ordinary man or woman to function as good "ordinary" doctors, in my
experience. Let's face it: Most people would prefer to be examined by a
doctor of their own gender! Therefore one should strive to educate an
equal amount of male and female doctors. If radical quotas are needed to
this end, then so be it!
(Mr.) Geir Holager, radiologist, Ski, Norway
Competing interests: No competing interests