Needs high psychometric score, but can't be psychotic
צילום: סי די בנק
Med school looks for 'right character'
High test scores no longer sufficient, as Tel Aviv University focuses on personality traits, too
As of the 2004 academic year, Tel Aviv University’s Sakler Faculty of Medicine is conducting strict behavioral tests on its applicants to make sure candidates with problematic personalities would not be accepted to the program.
אילוסרפואה רופאים בריאות
Among other qualities, the school expects doctors to have the ability to associate with people, Sakler Faculty Dean Dov Lichtenberg says.
"Medical literature includes a fair amount of criticism regarding the fact that medical schools do not instill values pertaining to social conduct and interpersonal communications in their students,” he says
Therefore, Lichtenberg says, a significant part of the faculty’s educational program is dedicated to “soft sciences,” such as economics, law, and ethics.
High evaluation score is not enough anymore
If until now a high psychometric evaluation test (equivalent to the American SAT) score and a sound interview would ensure acceptance into the medical program, the faculty has added exams that test the applicants’ personal traits and character.
“But this does not mean we are giving up on quality,” Lichtenberg says.
He says in addition to personal interviews, in which the applicants are examined for extreme personality disorders, the faculty has established an evaluation center that each applicant must visit, and the minimum acceptance psychometric test grade has been lowered as well.
“No one would be able to convince me that a student with a 706 psychometric test grade is less qualified than a student with a 720 grade," he says.
All on tape
So how does the personality evaluation process work?
Lichtenberg says last year’s applicants arrived at the Medical Simulation Center near Tel Aviv, where they underwent grueling sessions in which they faced complicated conundrums and had to attest to their past social activities.
He says all the tasks were recorded on video, and the applicants were graded on each separate task. The applicants’ answers were then sent to the testing center for evaluation.
“Following the launch of the new system, out of the 100 new applicants we accept each year, 30 who would have been accepted according to the old system had to give up their spots for 30 candidates with a lower basic qualification grade,” Lichtenberg says.
