Abstract:
Three Australian universities have taken the decision to offer a four year graduate-entry medical program in place of the standard six year under graduate course.
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has developed the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) as the major component of the selection process. In line with the universities' aim to recruit a more broadly based body of medical students, GAMSAT is designed to test problem-solving ability, creative thinking and communication skills across a range of subject areas. The challenge to the program is to attract both science and non-science graduates while ensuring the necessary level of competence in basic science concepts.
Applicants come from all disciplines with no particular undergraduate field being given preferential status. The five and a half hour test comprises three sections: Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences, Written Communication and Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences.
The inaugural test took place in February this year and the first intake of students will be at Flinders University in 1996. This paper will provide detail on the test development and analysis of various demographic features of the first candidate group which numbered 815.
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has developed the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) as the major component of the selection process. In line with the universities' aim to recruit a more broadly based body of medical students, GAMSAT is designed to test problem-solving ability, creative thinking and communication skills across a range of subject areas. The challenge to the program is to attract both science and non-science graduates while ensuring the necessary level of competence in basic science concepts.
Applicants come from all disciplines with no particular undergraduate field being given preferential status. The five and a half hour test comprises three sections: Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences, Written Communication and Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences.
The inaugural test took place in February this year and the first intake of students will be at Flinders University in 1996. This paper will provide detail on the test development and analysis of various demographic features of the first candidate group which numbered 815.