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>> Then, like the poster above says, the med schools should test for dexterity as a part of the admissions requirement. > Many medical specialties don't requir
by nordsieck 8y ago
>> Then, like the poster above says, the med schools should test for dexterity as a part of the admissions requirement.
> Many medical specialties don't require high dexterity. Most medical students don't decide whether to go into surgery until they've been in school for a while and assisted on some procedures.
The easy and obvious solution is to test everyone on entrance and only let people choose specialities if they have the necessary dexterity.
- dagw 8y agoWhy not have the test when people choose their specialty?
- nordsieck 8y ago> Why not have the test when people choose their specialty? That's certainly an option. On balance, I think the increased cost is worth giving people years of advanced notice about what their career options are. If someone really has their heart set on surgeon or nothing, they can go do something else rather than find out they won't make it 2 years into med school (with the associated debt).
- HelloMcFly 8y agoI'm sure the testing industry would love this proposal, but I disagree. Let people know general dexterity scores needed, give them an option to test themselves, but don't require it until it is time for admission. You'd be way, way, way overtesting for a skill the majority won't need. Most med students are ultimately not at all interested in surgery due to how long the post-graduate residencies are (5 years, minimum), to say nothing of potential fellowships. And there's only about ~1,300 total residency spots per year anyway, so testing all med students would just be a unnecessary revenue stream.
- carlmr 8y agoI don't understand that either. You might screen out the smart Dr House who is good at diagnosing, but doesn't have the dexterity he would need to be a surgeon.
- dagw 8y agoYou're not screening them out from being doctors, but from specializing in surgery. The people who don't want to be surgeons won't need to take the test and those that fail can select a different specialty.