NDLI: An assessment of the impact of formal preparation activities on performance in the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT): a national study

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Kulkarni, Sanat Parry, Jayne Sitch, Alice
Abstract	Background Previous studies have shown performance in the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) to be associated with measures of candidate socio-economic advantage such as parental occupation and type of school attended. It is possible that access to preparation support and materials may in part explain these associations. In this paper we determine whether use of formal preparation resources is associated with higher UCAT scores and whether differences in use of preparation resources exist between socio-demographic groups. Methods After completing the 2017 UCAT UK school-leaver candidates (n = 14,332) were asked to answer a questionnaire regarding their use of official UCAT and commercial resources, school-based support, and time spent preparing. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between preparedness, demographic characteristics and UCAT performance. Results Five thousand, four hundred thirty-nine (38%) candidates responded to the questionnaire. Use of freely available UCAT official practice tests, paid commercial materials, attendance at school-based preparation courses and spending more time preparing were significantly associated with higher UCAT scores. Candidates who were from less deprived backgrounds and attending independent or grammar schools were significantly more likely to use paid commercial materials and spend longer preparing. Conclusions Reported use of preparation resources varies between candidates from different socio-demographic backgrounds and is associated independently with performance in the UCAT. Increasing the availability of freely available resources may mitigate some of these differences.
Related Links	https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12909-022-03811-y.pdf
Ending Page	13
Page Count	13
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14726920
DOI	10.1186/s12909-022-03811-y
Journal	BMC Medical Education
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	22
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2022-10-28
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Medical Education Theory of Medicine Bioethics UCAT Preparation Coaching Widening access Selection Theory of Medicine/Bioethics
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Education Medicine
Journal Impact Factor	2.7/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.4/2023

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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