We would like to comment on Ip and McManus’s editorial on our extended medical degree programme (EMDP) at King’s College London.1
Firstly, our aim in setting up the programme was to enable bright motivated pupils from inner London state schools to become doctors; we had no intention of future matching of doctors to patients, in terms of class or ethnic origin.
Secondly, the 50 EMDP places are extra places, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and added to the 360 places on our conventional medical course.
Thirdly, we believe that we are not lowering standards with the EMDP students. Although they are given lower A level offers to enter medical school, once they are on the course they have to take the same assessments and achieve the same pass mark as conventional students.
Interestingly, in the two most recent assessments, more than 20% of the EMDP students came in the top 20% of the whole cohort. The increased diversity provided by the EMDP students has had a positive impact, and the medical school and these students are justifiably proud of their achievements.
Competing interests: None declared.
References
- 1.Ip H, McManus IC. Increasing diversity among clinicians. BMJ 2008;336:1082-3. (17 May.) [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]