Gender balance in medicine

Madam, – It appears that colleges of medicine are experiencing a gender rebalance because of the new tests recently introduced…

Madam, – It appears that colleges of medicine are experiencing a gender rebalance because of the new tests recently introduced. If faculties are to have tests perhaps they should be more relevant to the profession in question.

A person who cannot stand the sight of blood could get 600 points without having studied any of the sciences (biology, physics or chemistry) and perform well enough on the aptitude tests to be awarded a place in medicine.

The gender imbalances in law and engineering faculties are perhaps more pronounced, but these are dwarfed by the imbalance regarding child care responsibilities in society generally. Fewer than 10 per cent of fathers are the primary care givers and until we as a society have addressed this as well as other similar lacuna, the few areas where women take a lead should be a source of joy.

Perhaps if women are the natural caregivers in a domestic situation, they are best suited to professional caregiving where money and prestige are found. – Yours, etc,

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S LYDON,

Wilton,

Cork.

Madam, – I refer to Dr Muiris Houston’s article (Home News, August 18th).  I note the gender imbalance which has affected one of our health professions has been redressed.

I would like to point out that the initial imbalance, with men outnumbering women in medicine, did not need any specific measures to be corrected. Once it was socially acceptable for women to enter third-level education, the scales were tipped.

With regard to our allied health professions, namely nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy, clinical nutrition and occupational therapy, I cannot help but note that there has been no effort to redress the imbalance.

What proposals are in the pipeline to correct the male to female ratio in these predominantly female professions? – Yours, etc,

Dr BRIDGET KIELY and Dr SUSAN BYRNE,

Custom House Square,

Dublin 1.

Madam, – Gemma Hussey (August 20th) does not need to worry about the new entry requirements to medical schools. The CAO points system is merely a market to match demand for places in third-level courses to their supply.

Getting high points based on excellence in history, geography and maths does not make a good doctor, necessarily. Having no interest in medicine other than as a patient sometimes, I took the trouble to do the sample questions on the Health Professionals Admissions Test (HPat) website and found that they are an excellent way to test for critical thinking and logical reasoning, essential elements of a doctor’s (and indeed a scientist’s) skillset for diagnosis and drawing conclusions. The HPat test is very similar to the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMat) required for entry to most MBA business schools, but is tailored to suit the medical world.

I can see no reason for this test to discriminate against women – in fact women might even do better than the men on account of their better insights into the social scenarios presented in some of the questions.

Furthermore, one can download a complete test which is an excellent way to prepare for this test and the design of the test is such that practising with trial papers is an education in itself. The Department of Education deserves praise for this innovation. – Yours, etc,

GEORGE REYNOLDS,

Annamoe,

Co Wicklow.