The great wall of medical school: A comparison of barrier examinations across Australian medical schools

Annabel Ingham

Monday, October 24th, 2011


Annabel I Ingham
Associate Editor, AMSJ
Sixth Year Medicine (Undergraduate)
University of Adelaide



Figure 1: Miller’s Pyramid of Clinical Competence with Associated Assessment Methods. Adapted from 2, with permission.
From the moment that a medical student receives their university offer until the moment they take the Hippocratic Oath in front of proud family and friends, they will tread a path only taken by a select number before them. However, with medical schools now in every state and territory of Australia, the journey will not be identical for all students. For some, this will be a marathon, with continuous assessment peppering the entire journey, while others will encounter multiple large hurdles, interspaced with periods of calm. Despite this very different experience of medical school, all will ultimately compete for an increasingly competitive pool of internship positions, which represent the key to unlocking their future medical careers…