Queen's University says new medical school admissions process will increase diversity
One of Canada's top medical schools says it is changing its admissions process, hoping to reduce "systemic barriers" facing low-income and diverse candidates seeking to become doctors.
- Sign up now for our daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
The School of Medicine at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., says the key change to its new process, which comes into effect this fall for 2025 admissions, is a lottery system that it calls the first of its kind in Canada.
Queen's says it has had to apply higher cutoff points for parts of the application package -- like scores on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), the Casper situational judgment test and grade point average -- in order to manage high numbers of applicants.
It says those higher benchmarks can disadvantage certain candidates, partly due to potentially "inherent biases" within the tests.
Queen's says the new process will have an "early-phase" lottery system, whereby randomly selected candidates who meet the standard MCAT, Casper and GPA thresholds will move on to the interview stage.
Dr. Jane Philpott, the dean of Queen's Health Sciences, says this will help "level the playing field."
"We have thousands of qualified medical school applicants each year who would make excellent doctors. Our new admissions process will give them equal opportunity to be selected for the interview stage," she said in a press release.
The new system will "encourage applications from a wider range of students and encourage people to apply at all life stages and from all backgrounds" by bringing down barriers in the application and screening process," the university said in the release.
Dr. Eugenia Piliotis, an associate dean of Queen's undergraduate medical education program, said "increased diversity and life experience in our medical school will lead to more diversity in the health workforce."
"To support health equity, all communities need to see themselves reflected in their care providers."
The university said it is also creating a new Black student recruitment pathway in a second phase of its revised admissions process.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.