Barriers to Achieving Passing BioMedical Admissions Test Scores for Medical and Dental School Admission in Thailand

Background: The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT), developed and validated under the UK curriculum, is utilized by many medical and dental schools worldwide for applicant selection. No studies have investigated the fairness of the BMAT in countries with non-UK curricula and limited English usage. Objectives: To determine the effects of the barriers and compare the disparities in the prevalence between candidates in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) and other provinces. Methods: This study was cross-sectional and quantitative, using contingency tables and nonparametric tests, retrospectively analyzing secondary data from the survey conducted by the RAdiator, a free online education platform targeted at university admission preparation. Results: From 108 participants with available score data, the presence of BMAT barriers was associated with lower odds of passing the BMAT requirement satisfactory by most medical schools in Thailand and was significantly more prevalent in non-BMR group. The language barrier was the biggest impeding factor to passing the requirement (OR [95% CI], 0.236 [0.103-0.539]; P < .001) and the most pronounced difference in prevalence between BMR and non-BMR groups (OR [95% CI], 2.423 [1.277-4.596]; P = .009). About 82% of the participants used the RAdiator, limiting the samples to those using free unofficial BMAT resources to alleviate the barriers. Conclusions: There were BMAT barriers for medical and dental admissions which were more prevalent outside the BMR. English proficiency was the core skill to achieve satisfactory BMAT scores. Admission criteria should be adjusted to align with the context, faculty’s values, and learning outcomes.