The proposal to lower the points requirement to study medicine and the introduction of an aptitude test for applicants will be welcomed by many.
Parents of students interested in a medical career, at present faced with the highly stressful demand to achieve straight A grades in the Leaving Certificate, will be pleased at the more realistic target of 450 points.
The recommendation of the Committee on the Future of Medical Education to open the profession to honours graduates of other disciplines also makes sense. It will enhance the diversity of entrants to medicine and increase equity of access. And the decision not to confine graduate entry to science graduates and to steadily increase graduate numbers to 50 per cent of medical school intake will add balance to the new system.
It is understood the Committee, chaired by Professor Pat Fottrell of the National University of Ireland, Galway, rejected the introduction of subjective measures of assessment such as interviews and reports of non-academic achievements. They would have undermined the confidence which exists in the present selection system overseen by the Central Applications Office (CAO).
Aptitude testing, when it is introduced, must be objective and transparent. It must be run by the CAO and be validated by external experts. One of the challenges will be to find a system that recognises the different skills required of a general practitioner and a pathologist. Experts point to the successful use of aptitude tests in Australia, Britain and the US; however, a new system must command the respect of all concerned.
While the overall matter of financing medical education is a wider issue, critics of the proposals have rightly pointed out that they will achieve little in the absence of a major expansion in the numbers entering medical school. The numbers problem has become especially acute with recent increases in the volume of non-EU students allocated places to study medicine. As a result no more than 320 Irish and EU students graduate in medicine here every year. With the Hanly report on medical manpower estimating a current need to produce in excess of 750 medical graduates annually, the shortfall is significant. When future manpower needs are taken into account, it is clear that our health service is facing a crisis.
The change in entry criteria to study medicine should be extended to a review of medical education itself. At present 10 per cent of medical graduates do not practise medicine. And it is estimated that 15 per cent of those who complete post graduate courses to become general practitioners seek out alternative careers. It is reasonable to question why this is so and to change accordingly.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, has been presented with a workable framework for change. He must accept the Committee's recommendations and ensure the financial resources are available to implement them. And he must prevail upon the Minister for Finance to immediately increase medical student numbers.