Transcript Slide 1
Admission of Indigenous medical
students:
Experiences of a new School
Neville D Yeomans, Tim Wills, Christine Carriage
University of Western Sydney
Background to the Medical School
• One of Australia’s largest (and youngest)
universities - on 6 campuses across
Greater Western Sydney
• Has largest School of Nursing in Australia,
and a number of other health sciences
• Offered a Medical School in 2004
• First students commenced in 2007
Background to the Medical School
(contd.)
• The MB BS course:
– Predominantly undergraduate (but some
grads.)
– 5 years long (2 y basic sciences, 3 y clinical
clerkships)
– Curriculum for years 1-2 licensed from
University of Melbourne
– Curriculum for years 3-5 being developed in
house, with some emphasis on out-of-hospital
settings, continuum-of-care, and extended
pre-internship
Our opportunities to contribute to
Indigenous Medical Education
• UWS located in Australia’s largest concentration
of urban Indigenous people (26,500 at 2006 census =
5% of Australian population, 63% of Sydney’s)
– Three major community groups in the Western
Sydney region
– Plus many others who have migrated
• UWS seen as community friendly and informal
• Already substantial number of Indigenous
students in other courses
How do we select our non-Indigenous
students?
• Initial Filter:
– School leavers: UAI threshold of 951 (93 if
GWS)
– Graduates: Grade Point Average of 5.5
(~credit average)
• Then rank using UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine & Health Sciences
Admission Test)
• Interview about 350 (of 2300 applicants in ‘06) to
decide the 108 places, using a 90 minute Multimini interview
Selection process used for
Indigenous students in 06/07
• Direct application to School in September (11 applied)
• Confirmation of Aboriginality by UWS Badanami Centre
for Indigenous Education
• ‘Chat’ with Dean to advise about further steps we would
follow in admissions
• Applicants advised that sitting UMAT ‘… helpful but not
essential’
• All interviewed, with other applicants, in the main
interview round
• Special interview for 30 min with panel of 4, including 2
Indigenous academics
Domains discussed at the special
interview
• Academic background
– Candidates brought transcripts, or any information that
would give reassurance about likelihood of scholastic
success
• Motivation to do Medicine at UWS
• Understanding of issues of Aboriginal health
(Sydney/Australia)
• Cultural and emotional support available to them
Outcomes of 2006/2007 round
• 5 students (2 male, 3 female) admitted to
2007 cohort
– 1 school leaver with predicted UAI of 92
– 2 with partial degrees or diplomas
– 2 with Masters degrees
• 1 offered deferred place, if successful in
year 1 of B Biomed Sc at Macquarie
Academic and emotional support
• Mentoring by Cris Carriage, Indigenous
Program Officer, School of Medicine
• Additional tutorials through Indigenous
Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS)
• Still to do …. recruit at least one Indigenous
academic member of staff
Progress of initial cohort
• 1 deferred at start of semester 2 (requires
surgery for a chronic condition)
• 1 mature student whose university
background was not in bioscience or a
health area is having difficulty at present
• 1 is balancing challenging family
responsibilities
• 2 have had a fairly uneventful first year to
date
What have we learned about our
admissions process?
• May have been a little too anxious to start
with as many Indigenous students as
possible
• ? Better screening of appropriateness of
academic background
• ? A bridging course (such as UNSW’s)
• ? More often advise a year of biological
science, then transition to MB BS if
successful