ArticleBMJ open2021
The attitudes, perceptions and experiences of medical school applicants following the closure of schools and cancellation of public examinations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional questionnaire study of UK medical applicants.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perceptions, barriers, and career priorities among prospective medical school applicants in Scotland.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- COVID-19 meets control-value theory: Emotional reactions to canceled high-stakes examinations.Learning and individual differences · 2023Article
- Article
- Assessing Cognitive Factors of Modular Distance Learning of K-12 Students Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic towards Academic Achievements and Satisfaction.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Article
- Observational
- Medical applicant general practice experience and career aspirations: a questionnaire study.BJGP open · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveDescribe the experiences and views of medical applicants from diverse social backgrounds following the closure of schools and universities and the cancellation of public examinations in the UK due to COVID-19.
designCross-sectional questionnaire study, part of the longitudinal UK Medical Applicant Cohort Study (UKMACS).
settingUK medical school admissions in 2020.
participants2887 participants completed an online questionnaire from 8 April to 22 April 2020. Eligible participants had registered to take the University Clinical Admissions Test in 2019 and agreed to be invited to take part, or had completed a previous UKMACS questionnaire, had been seriously considering applying to medicine in the UK for entry in 2020, and were UK residents.
main outcome measuresViews on calculated grades, views on medical school admissions and teaching in 2020 and 2021, reported experiences of education during the national lockdown.
resultsRespondents were concerned about the calculated grades that replaced A-level examinations: female and Black Asian and Minority Ethnic applicants felt teachers would find it difficult to grade and rank students accurately, and applicants from non-selective state schools and living in deprived areas had concerns about the standardisation process. Calculated grades were generally not considered fair enough to use in selection, but were considered fair enough to use in combination with other measures including interview and aptitude test scores. Respondents from non-selective state (public) schools reported less access to educational resources compared with private/selective school pupils, less online teaching in real time and less time studying during lockdown.
conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has and will have significant and long-term impacts on the selection, education and performance of our medical workforce. It is important that the views and experiences of applicants from diverse backgrounds are considered in decisions affecting their future and the future of the profession.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.