A study of women students at King's College Hospital Medical School

The admission statistics between 1967 and 1975 were studied and it was found that of the students applying a higher proportion of women than men have been admitted to King's College Hospital Medical School and that the percentage has also risen during the period for 20% in 1967 to 38% in 1975. The performance of 206 students was examined and it was found that in the A-level examinations the women studentss had significantly higher score in Zoology/Biology than the men, higher score but not significantly so in Chemistry and lower scores in Physics. It was found that the women students had higher scores than the men in the multiple choice examinations in medicine and surgery at the end of the first clinical year but that these differences were not statistically significant. In their firm reports during the first clinical year the women students had higher scores than the men in both ability and effort, but only significantly so in the case of the score for effort. In the Final London MB BS examinations in Medicine and Surgery the women had significantly higher marks than the men in both subjects. This superior academic performance and motivation at undergraduate level is discussed in the light of the lower work record of women medical graduates, and the government's policy of equal opportunity for men and women.