Widening participation in medicine

Context and setting The UK government is committed to widening participation (WP) as part of its drive to ensure equality of access to higher education. Medical students are expected to be representative of the diverse communities for whom they will eventually care. With more medical applicants meeting academic entry criteria than places available, schools increasingly have to discriminate on non-academic grounds. Applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds often lack the school and family support that can help provide relevant work experience, advice on the application process, and the self-belief that an application is worth pursuing, which leads to a successful outcome. Leeds Medical School has established a pre-entry foundation course to assist applications from disadvantaged backgrounds and the student body is committed to supporting WP activity in a variety of ways. Why the idea was necessary Four Year 3 medical students chose a 5-week optional module designed to foster team working and educational skills by creating and implementing a teaching resource that could be used to stimulate interest in medicine in 16-year-old state high school students who would be attending an aspiration-raising medicine summer school. The challenge was to combine our current experiences and enthusiasm for medicine and present them in a way that was accessible and realistic. The resource had to be clearly presented and easy to use by other medical students in the future. What was done We chose a real-life scenario to integrate theoretical and practical aspects and bring medicine to life. We consulted the appropriate GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) syllabus to enable us to deliver the resource at the correct level and decided on a car crash scenario that, by including a driver and 3 passengers, provided 4 different exercises (phlebotomy for blood alcohol levels in the driver, basic life support for an unconscious passenger, electrocardiogram and auscultation of the heart for a passenger with chest pain, and application of arm slings) illustrating a range of different medical activities. With 45 minutes for each scenario, we aimed to keep the students interested whilst not complicating things too much with medical jargon or oversimplification of content. Each scenario was accompanied by an introduction to the themes, instructions on the practical aspects of the exercise, worksheets, prompt questions for demonstrators, colour posters and teachers' notes. The use of manikins and other aids from the clinical skills department encouraged active learning. A detailed teachers' pack was produced so that other medical students could replicate the workshop in the future. Evaluation of results and impact In order to aid evaluation and design, 2 ‘taster’ days were organised with local schools. Feedback indicated that the high school students had enjoyed the practical nature of the day and more than 85% stated they were more likely to study medicine as a result. All the students who attended the summer school where the resource was used stated afterwards that they were more likely to study medicine. The tutors at the summer school evaluated the pack as being well designed and appropriate for its current use.