A comparison of the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UK-CAT) with a traditional admission selection process

TLDR

The United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UK‑CAT) was introduced in 2006 by a consortium of 23 UK medical and dental schools, including Aberdeen, to serve as a student selection tool. The study aimed to compare UK‑CAT performance with the University of Aberdeen’s conventional medical student selection outcomes and to determine which better predicts undergraduate or future clinical success. Researchers compared all 1,307 applicants who took the UK‑CAT in 2006, categorizing candidates into five selection outcomes and assessing UK‑CAT scores against the UoA selection process. UK‑CAT scores showed only a weak correlation with the.

Abstract

Background: The United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UK-CAT) was introduced for the purpose of student selection by a consortium of 23 UK University Medical and Dental Schools, including the University of Aberdeen in 2006.Aim: To compare candidate performance on UK-CAT with local medical student selection outcome.Method: We compared the outcomes of all applicants to Medicine, University of Aberdeen (UoA), in 2006 who undertook the UK-CAT. The candidates were selected into one of five outcomes (academic reject, reject following assessment, reject following interview, reserve list or offer). The candidate performance in the UK-CAT was compared to candidate performance on the UoA selection.Results: Data are reported on 1307 (85.0%) students who applied to UoA in 2006 and undertook the UK-CAT. Total UK-CAT scores were significantly correlated with local selection scores. However, of 314 students offered a place following the conventional selection process, only 101 were also in the highest scoring 318 on the UK-CAT.Conclusions: Results from this study indicate that UK-CAT scores show weak correlation with success in our medical admissions process. It appears therefore that the UK-CAT examines different traits compared to our selection process. Further work is required to establish which better predicts success as an undergraduate or as a doctor.