Tracking Indigenous Applicants through the Admissions Process of a Socially Accountable Medical School

Abstract

Purpose To describe the admissions process and outcomes for Indigenous applicants to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), a Canadian medical school with the mandate to recruit students whose demographics reflect the service region's population. Method The authors examined 10-year trends (2006-2015) for self-identified Indigenous applicants through major admission stages. Demographics (age, sex, northern and rural backgrounds) and admission scores (grade point average [GPA], preinterview, multiple mini-interview [MMI], final), along with score-based ranks, of Indigenous and non-Indigenous applicants were compared using Pearson chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between Indigenous status and likelihood of admission outcomes (interviewed, received offer, admitted). Results Indigenous qualified applicants (338/17,060; 2.0%) were more likely to be female, mature (25 or older), or of northern or rural background than non- Indigenous applicants. They had lower GPA-based ranks than non-Indigenous applicants (P