Abstract
Objective Despite rising numbers of doctors in the workforce with disabilities, little is known about the impact of disabilities on postgraduate performance. To ensure all groups are treated fairly in surgical training, it is essential to know whether any attainment differences exist in markers of surgical performance. To address this gap, we assessed the impact of disabilities on performance on the Intercollegiate Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons examination (MRCS). Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Secondary care. Participants All UK MRCS candidates attempting Part A ( n = 9600) and Part B ( n = 4560) between 2007 and 2017 with linked disability data in the UK Medical Education Database ( https://www.ukmed.ac.uk ) were included. Main outcome measures Chi-square tests and correlation coefficients established univariate associations with MRCS performance, while multiple logistic regressions identified independent predictors of success. Results Though MRCS Part B pass rates were similar ( p = 0.339), candidates with registered disabilities had significantly lower first-attempt Part A pass rates (46.3% vs. 59.8%, p < 0.001). Candidates with disabilities also performed less well in examinations taken throughout school and medical school, and after adjusting for prior academic performance and sociodemographic predictors of success, logistic regression found that candidates with disabilities were no less likely to pass MRCS than their peers (odds ratio 1.04, 95% confidence interval 0.66 to 1.62). No significant variation was found in MRCS performance between type of disability or degree of limitations caused by disability ( p > 0.05). Conclusion Although candidates with registered disabilities performed less well in formal, written examinations, our data indicate that they are as likely to pass MRCS at first attempt as their peers who achieved similar grades at high school and medical school. In order to enable equity in career progression, further work is needed to investigate the causes of attainment differences in early career assessments.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 58–68 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |
| Volume | 115 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 16 Jul 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Open Access via Sage AgreementFundings:
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Iain Targett at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, for his help with data collection and Gregory Ayre from the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations for their support during this project. Our thanks to members of the UKMED Research Group who provided useful feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript, and whose comments were helpful in refining the paper. The authors would also like to acknowledge Sebastian Shaw for his valued expertise in SpLD and Daniel Smith for his help with the UKMED database. Data Source: UK Medical Education Database (‘UKMED’). UKMEDP043 extract generated on 25/07/2018. We are grateful to UKMED for the use of these data. However, UKMED bears no responsibility for their analysis or interpretation. The data include information derived from that collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited (‘HESA’) and provided to the GMC (‘HESA Data’). Source: HESA Student Records 2007/2008 to 2015/2016. Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the HESA Data, cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other Information supplied by it.
Keywords
- Clinical
- medical education
- non-clinical
- postgraduate
- surgery