Relying solely on measures of intellectual aptitude and academic performance in university admissions can be disadvantageous to underprivileged students. The Fiji School of Medicine primarily uses such measures to evaluate and select student applicants, and the introduction of supplementary assessments could provide better access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study examined the need for supplementary assessments in the admission process, types of additional assessments needed, and stakeholders’ views on a multi-entry multi-exit strategy currently in use at the Fiji School of Medicine. A survey of the key stakeholders was conducted in February and March 2012 using closed and open ended questionnaire. One hundred and twenty-two validated questionnaires were self-administered by key stakeholders from the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) and Fiji Ministries of Education and Health, with a response rate of 61%. Returned questionnaires were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Sixty-five percent of respondents supported the introduction of supplementary assessments, 49% favoured admissions test, and 16% preferred assessing non-academic factors. Many respondents supported the School’s multi-entry multi-exit strategy as a ‘good policy’ that provided ‘flexibility’ and opportunity for students, but should be better regulated. These findings demonstrate the need for supplementary assessments in the selection process and for continued support for the use of multi-entry multi-exit strategy at the school.

Background: Processes for selection of candidates into medical schools vary globally. Knowledge of the predictive validity of a selection method is important for policy revision. Aim: To survey the practices used by medical schools to select students and their predictive validity. Methods: Search terms developed from the research problem were used to search Google Scholar, PubMed, and Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC). These were “medical school,” “predictive validity,” “success,” “academic achievement” “admission criteria,” and “student selection.” Retrieved articles were screened for relevance and sorted according to countries of publication. Authors narratively reviewed the articles from each country and collated the findings. Best practices were recommended for African-based medical schools. Results: Articles retrieved from 14 countries were included in the review. USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand operate centralized medical school admission programs and administer nation-wide admission tests. These tests cover cognitive and non-cognitive domains. The validity of these tests in predicting medical school success were extensively studied and reported. Other countries do not operate centralized medical school admission programs. Most of these rely on cognitive excellence to select students. Few reports are available on the validity of selection practices in Africa. Most rely on cognitive excellence which highly predicted academic success during preclinical studies. Predictivity decreased during clinical phases and non-cognitive variables became better predictors of success. Conclusion: Medical school admission processes should consider cognitive and non-cognitive factors. With non-cognitive factors, candidates with right attitudes are selected. African countries should align their practices to that of Western countries.

Background: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, medical education now embraces online teaching. Aim: To determined medical students’ perception of online pharmacology practical classes conducted during COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: Years 2 and 3 students participated in the study. Before the pandemic, they used the exercises for on-site classes. They used Cyber Patient, Organ bath, Virtual Cat, and Virtual Rat software to conduct pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, autonomic, cardiovascular, and neuropharmacology exercises. Through Moodle, they received instructions and resources; and the tutors accessed and rated their reports. To determine their readiness and perception of the exercises, the study conducted cross-sectional survey using questionnaire that included a demographic section, a section on ICT readiness, and a section on perception of the exercises. Statistical analysis included mean scores, t-test, Cronbach’s coefficient, and principal components. Results: Sample size for both classes (total enrolment = 191) was 128. Seventy-eight students participated (45 from year 2 and 33 from year 3). Response rate was 60.94 %, mean age 21.7 (SD = 4.0); 74.4 % had no formal ICT training, 92.3 % had personal computers, 95 % used computers often, and 79.5 % required ICT training. Cronbach’s coefficient was 0.8, and factor analysis yielded two principal components that accounted for 54.5 % of variance. Participants were “satisfied” with the exercises, reported that these programs were “quite user-friendly,” “somewhat-easy” to use, and “supportive” of learning. They would “likely” recommend them for future use. Conclusion: The online exercises provided effective method of delivering practical pharmacology classes to medical students.