Madam, – Dr Siun O’Flynn is quoted as saying that using the HPat (Health Professions Admission Test) for medical admission resulted in a significant number of candidates getting into medicine who would not have otherwise secured places (Home News, June 23rd). This is exactly the equivalent of saying that a significant number of candidates were excluded who otherwise would have secured admission on the basis of better school Leaving Certificate results. Why exactly is their exclusion to be welcomed?
The introduction of the Australian non-curricular HPat for Irish school-leavers seeking medical admission postpones the reform of the Irish Leaving Certificate programme and examination – particularly for high achievers. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The report on the results of a HPat research exercise, involving 222 hospital consultants, junior doctors and medical students, makes interesting reading. The fact that many of the participants, including experienced consultants, did not perform well in the test led the research organisers to conclude “the scores achieved by consultant surgeons were surprising and suggest the HPat exam does not measure what it purports to measure.” There is, potentially, an alternative explanation for the results. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Those in the departments of surgery in the Mater and Beaumont who undertook research into the value of the HPat are to be commended for their efforts. Many consultants who provide valuable service to their patients scored badly. So did junior doctors who entered medical school on CAO points, the only way to achieve a fee-free medical school place. Graduate entry medical students who would have done a HPat-type test before scored best. They are likely to come from well-off backgrounds, high fees being charged for these places.
In her article, Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, writes that the researchers conclude that HPat “is not without its flaws”. She correctly adds that “Views on the HPat vary widely” and reports that Dr Siun O’Flynn a member of the national research group evaluating revised entry mechanisms to medicine said earlier this year that a significant number of candidates got into medical school due to HPat who would not otherwise have achieved a place and “This included candidates from lower socioeconomic groups.”
I presume Dr O’Flynn has facts on which to base this last statement because research by Prof David James of Nottingham University on the influence of the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT), the UK equivalent of HPat, on entry to medical schools published in the British Medical Journal recently found that even when the same A-Level results had been achieved, the UKCAT test favoured males of white ethnicity from professional/managerial backgrounds who had independent or grammar schooling. Other studies have shown the “grind” school classes on HPat do help achieve good scores in the test. These cost €200-€300 and are less likely to be availed of by students from poorer backgrounds. – Yours, etc,