The effect of integration of non-cognitive parameters on medical students' characteristics and their intended career choices

Background: A new approach for assessing non-cognitive attributes in medical school candidates was developed and implemented at the Hebrew University Medical School. The non-cognitive tests included a biographical questionnaire, a questionnaire raising theoretical dilemmas and multiple mini-interviews. Objectives: To evaluate the effects of the change in the admission process on students' demographics and future career choices. Methods: A questionnaire including questions on students' background and future residency preferences was administered to first-year students accepted to medical school by the new admission system. Results were compared with previous information collected from students admitted through the old admission process. Results: Students accepted by the new process were significantly older (22.49 vs. 21.54, P < 0.001), and more had attended other academic studies before medical school, considered other professions besides medicine, and majored in humanities combined with sciences in high school. Significantly more students from small communities were admitted by the new system. Differences were found in preferences for future residencies; compared with the old admission process (N=41), students admitted by the new system (N=85) had a more positive attitude towards a career in obstetrics/gynecology (41% vs. 22%, P < 0.001) and hematology/oncology (11.7% vs. 4.8%, P < 0.001), while the popularity of surgery and pediatrics had decreased (34.5% vs. 61%, P < 0.001 and 68.7% vs. 82.5%, P < 0.001 respectively). Conclusions: Assessment of non-cognitive parameters as part of the admission criteria to medical school was associated with an older and more heterogenic group of students and different preferences for future residency. Whether these preferences in first-year students persist through medical school is a question for further research.