Concerning: Final year medical students made to sit exams at home

I am considering writing to BMA too

Here are the grounds for complaint:

Students were made to sit MBBS finals examinations in their own homes, under the following conditions:

1. Libraries were closed, and government advice was to self-isolate from pubs/cafes and public places, and the only alternatives were to take the test at home. Many students reported considerable noise, from noisy tenants, loud building work, which played a role as a clear distraction.

2. Students who were room mates with other students were told to sit in separate rooms. This however, would not necessarily stop students conferring on even a few questions. Conferring on 10% of questions would have been enough to swing results and passing.

3. The possibility of having medic family members and friends helping, particularly given for Medicine, a high proportion of students do have family members in the field, would have been a major source of unfair advantage.

A-Level examinations were not considered to be fairly taken in students own homes, and we hope the BMA can consider whether final year MBBS examinations during very high stake examinations should be afforded far more care, concern, and fairness. We understand the challenges the virus may pose and the need to adapt, but we don't believe this justifies trying to force through exams under very unfair circumstances, which goes against the very ethos of what the NHS wishes in "Tomorrows Doctor's".

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Volunteer Note: For advice, guidance and up-to-date information on Coronavirus/COVID-19, please check out the NHS, UK Government, and Mind (mental health) web-pages.

While A-Level exams have been cancelled because there is no fair way of testing students, some medical schools have resorted to making students take their final year MBBS examinations under very unfair conditions:

1. They were told to do it at home. Libraries were shut , and public places not viable due to the need to self-isolate. Many students complained of extreme noise, building work, which provided a massive distraction.

2. Many medical students are room mates. While exams were randomised in order, they were merely told to sit in different rooms. They were warned that conferring would be a fitness to practise issue. However, it is not inconceivable that many may have conferred , and conference on even five or ten percent of questions would be enough to swing the pass mark.

3. A high proportion of medical students have family members in the medical field. It is not inconceivable to have been able to reach said members through the phone, or at home. This would provide an enormous and unfair disadvantage.

GCSES and A-Level examinations would never be considered legitimate under these circumstances. Why would final year MBBS examinations? It provides an unfair environment and context, and grossly stands against fairness and the ethos of exams. There is no doubt that Covid-19 has posed great challenges, but this should not be an excuse to push through exams in a very unfair, poorly regulated and questionable manner.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

asif007

Some medical schools in the UK are obviously **** places to be, if what you say is true. :tongue:

Source?

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Original post by asif007

Some medical schools in the UK are obviously **** places to be, if what you say is true. :tongue:

Source?

Me, and dozens of others. 100% Verified. We sat this.

Reply 4

Fermion.

It’s stupid. I’m a radiography student and I’m meant to be doing my exams online at home. It’s a serious fitness to practice issue for all health professionals.

Reply 5

Rainy Times

I don't understand. How do they stop you from using the internet?

Reply 6

Fermion.

Original post by Rainy Times

I don't understand. How do they stop you from using the internet?

Then only thing they can implement is a timer on each question so that the student doesn’t have the time to “look up” an answer but this only limits it, it doesn’t completely prevent cheating. Another method is monitoring via webcam but again this can only limit it to an extent. People can still cheat.

I strongly feel that exams should’ve still gone ahead in paper and there were measures that could’ve been implemented to keep them running.

Reply 7

asif007

Original post by Anonymous

Me, and dozens of others. 100% Verified. We sat this.

Which medical school?

Reply 8

Anonymous #1

Original post by asif007

Which medical school?

A london one

Reply 9

asif007

Original post by Anonymous

A london one

Outrageous

Reply 10

Anonymous #1

Original post by asif007

Outrageous

Any advice on how to complain to the BMA?

Reply 11

jackthelad200

I don't quite get the "unfairness" around all this...

Reply 12

Anonymous #1

Original post by jackthelad200

I don't quite get the "unfairness" around all this...

Libraries were closed, public places advised to abstain from due to isolation - this was in and around when Boris Johnson wanted to close everything. The only reasonable places were in our homes. I had building work going on as well as a dog barking loudly all the time and could not focus properly.

A good percentage of students have medics in their family, or know people in the year above, and it was not impossible to get these people on speaker, go and stay with them, do one thing or another to unfairly gain an advantage.

Many students have room mates with others. While questions were randomised, it was highly likely you people could cheat by merely asking loudly about a particular topic, or clarifying, or shouting hints.

Reply 13

jackthelad200

Still don't get it.

What's the concern - people will do "better" than you? Will do "better" than they're "supposed to"?

I presume that your university will hold enough information to make outliers immediately obvious (positive or negative).

Reply 14

elsa10

Original post by Anonymous

were you able to google answers during your exam? if you were able to google answers would this have given you an advantage too? did your exam require you to use eye tracking software/software tracking your keyboard strokes?

Reply 15

asif007

Original post by Anonymous

A london one

Let me guess: Imperial?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2020/mar/22/coronavirus-forces-medical-students-sit-final-exams-online

Reply 16

nexttime

Original post by asif007

Let me guess: Imperial?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2020/mar/22/coronavirus-forces-medical-students-sit-final-exams-online

lol @ that article pushing this as some kind of good or innovative thing, like they've come up with a great idea no one could have thought of before!

I'd have major major concerns about this. It would be possible but only with lots of very labour intensive checks on whether this person is cheating.

Reply 17

asif007

Original post by nexttime

Yeah that’s why I was asking if it’s Imperial. The article and everything OP wrote make it sound like the exams at home have already happened. Which means it’s too late to put a complaint in: if they do choose to appeal, ain’t **** gonna be done about it, lol.

Reply 18

Anonymous #1

Original post by nexttime

Original post by asif007

The change was made three days prior, and the same concerns were already put in.

1. For noise , they were asked if we could go to the library or another place and were told libraries were closed. Given the self-isolation by Boris request, public places like Cafes were not advised. The only choice was home, no matter what the noise. A number of us had it VERY noisy, with nothing to do.

2. For people with room mates, apparently each one had to sit in different rooms. The questions were thrown up into random order. Students could still theoretically shout out advice about things even if they were sitting it differently. It was more than possible to call a medic family member to help you over speaker, or to be able to visit them a home.

3. Many of us don't have a desk or any proper place to sit for three hours. We live in a box room in London.

The exam has no legitimacy. Even GCSE/A-Level exams were done in a better manner. But somehow these standards are okay for final year medical schools?

Reply 19

jackthelad200

Because these exams matter very little.

If the only barrier between your fitness go practice is a set of exams, then the UK has got it wrong. And I'm pretty sure it hasn't.

If you're not good enough, the F1/F2 process will weed you out. And certainly the exam pathway into any given speciality will do that if you can bluff your way through your Foundation Years.

If you are good enough, then all these exams were were a ticket to take your next exams, and the exams after that until you reach CCT.