Medical schools are planning to change entry requirements for studying medicine in Irish universities following concern that many applicants are “gaming” tests aimed at determining their aptitude for working in the sector.
Applicants are required to combine their Leaving Certificate results with the Hpat (Health Professions Admission Test), which was introduced in 2009 to assess skills deemed important for medicine, such as reasoning, problem-solving and interpersonal skills.
While the 2½-hour test was initially envisaged as one which candidates could not study for, there is now an extensive private tuition industry where students can spend up to €800 over 15 weeks to prepare for the assessment.
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The deans of Irish medical schools met recently and agreed to significantly reduce the weighting attached to the test, according to well-placed sources.
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The planned changes, which will require sign-off by the academic councils of universities, would likely have a two-year lead-in time before they are implemented, according to informed sources.
The Hpat is marked out of a total of 300 points, which is added to a candidate’s Leaving Cert score. For example, a student who gets 500 points in the Leaving Cert and 200 points in the Hpat gets a combined score of 700 points.
Under revised plans, the Hpat would be reduced to 150 points. This, say sources, means the test would carry the equivalent weight of about one extra subject for entry purposes.
About 3,000 students take the test each year, which is required to study undergraduate medicine at University of Galway, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, UCC and UCD. University of Limerick also requires the Hpat for entry to its master’s in occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.
The Hpat was introduced under then minister for education Mary Hanafin, following concern that only those scoring very high Leaving Cert points were guaranteed entry to medicine. She said at the time that students would no longer need a “perfect Leaving Cert” to enter medicine.
However, university sources say students who are able to afford extra support for their exams and Hpat tests are at a significant advantage when it comes to studying medicine.
Latest Higher Education Authority data, for example, show about 33 per cent of medicine students are from affluent backgrounds, compared with 18 per cent of students overall. Only 3 per cent of medicine students are from disadvantaged backgrounds, compared to 11 per cent overall.
