IRRELEVANT TEST, Australian Doctor (9 March 2007)
3 years ago by Rob
EDITOR: It is not surprising that the Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test (GAMSAT) is not a good predictor of students' performance in medical school ('Graduate med school test doubts', 9 February).
However, a more important question that should be investigated is whether GAMSAT is a good test for predicting whether selected students become good medical practitioners.
If practising doctors in Australia were to sit the tests without preparation, at least 70% would pass the UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) -- a test for school leavers -- whereas only about 1% would pass the GAMSAT (a test for graduates).
This is not because GAMSAT is harder than UCAT; it is because while UCAT tests generic skills, GAMSAT tests knowledge, much of which is irrelevant to the practice of medicine.
