Medical School Selection: A Competency-based Approach

If medical schools need to ensure that their graduates possess the competencies necessary to practice medicine, it makes sense that the medical school applicants should be selected based on their potential to achieve these competencies. Until very recently, medical school selection has been mostly based on cognitive abilities. Medical practice, however, demands that medical students should master not only cognitive, but also the non-cognitive competencies; i.e. skills and attitudes.

This book delves into an experiment of designing and validating a medical school selection test that assesses the applicant?s potential to achieve both cognitive and non-cognitive competencies. First, an analysis of the issues related to personnel selection, together with a historical overview of personnel recruitment is provided. Then, a step by step account of designing and validating a selection test is provided, with justification of each step in the light of educational theory and practice. An insight into such a process will be invaluable not only to medical educators and administrators, but also to those involved in personnel recruitment in general.