BMA report highlights social imbalance of medical students

Social class and race have a major impact on people's chances of entering the medical profession, according to British Medical Association (BMA) research published today.

In a new report, 'The Demography of Medical Schools', the BMA found "marked differences" in medical school acceptance rates between ethnic groups and social classes, and has called for action to ensure that no discrimination is taking place.

It also found that the proportion of mature students at medical school was rapidly increasing, and that women doctors could outnumber men by 2012.

According to the report, six in 10 (59%) medical school applicants came from families where the main source of income is a professional or managerial job such as law or accountancy. In recent years applicants from these groups were twice as likely to be accepted as those from working class backgrounds, the BMA said.

Acceptance rates between ethnic groups was also found to vary significantly. More than seven out of 10 medical school applications from white and Asian students are successful, compared with only four in 10 for students from black African backgrounds. The study also found that, in 2003, more than three out of every five (61%) entrants to UK medical schools were female, compared to 29% in 1963.

The report concluded that the social imbalance among medical students "cannot be wholly explained by different levels of educational achievement". Although direct discrimination may be a thing of the past, admissions procedures can "unintentionally favour certain social groups", according to the report. For example, some medical schools prefer candidates to have had work experience in a hospital, but access to such opportunities is limited for many students.

Dr Peter Dangerfield, chairman of the BMA's Board of Medical Education, said: "The NHS needs doctors who can relate to all their patients, but at the moment the profession is far from being representative of the public it serves. Medical schools need to guard against any kind of discrimination intentional or otherwise."

The report also said that "inadequate financial support" and the "high cost" of studying medicine, which will increase with the introduction of top-up fees, further discourages students from disadvantaged backgrounds from considering medical careers.

Commenting on 'The Demography of Medical Schools', Dr Vivienne Nathanson, Head of science and ethics at the BMA, warned that medicine "must not be the preserve of the middle classes".

(gmcg)