Examining the Impact of Medical School Admissions on Undergraduate Students

This survey will take around 15 minutes to complete. Before beginning, please make sure that you are eligible to participate in this study.

You are eligible to participate if:

1. You are an undergraduate student in Canada
2. You are planning to apply to a Canadian medical school within the next five years. OR: You have applied to a Canadian medical school previously.

You are not eligible to participate:

1. You are not planning to apply to a Canadian medical school within the next five years.
2. You are currently enrolled in a graduate program. OR. You have previously completed a graduate program

Preamble and Consent

This survey is led by Dr. Stacey Ritz, Dr. Lawrence Grierson, and Isabella Honeyborne (McMaster University). The purpose of this research project is to understand how the medical school admission process influences students’ academic decisions, involvement in extracurricular activities, and well-being.

What are we trying to discover?

This study aims to collect data that will shed light on the ways that the admissions criteria of Canadian Medical Schools (CMSs) impact aspiring physicians (APs) with respect to their academic decisions, extracurricular investments, and sense of well-being.

What will happen during the study?

You will be asked to complete an online survey. The survey will take around 15 minutes to finish. At the completion of the survey, you will be asked if you are interested in participating in a future focus group. Completing the survey does not create any obligation to participate in a focus group; if you opt to participate in a focus group, that will have its own separate informed consent process.

What are potential harms, risks or discomforts of doing this study?

The study is a low-risk study, meaning that the risks involved in participating in this study are minimal. There are no physical risks involved. There is a small possibility that you may feel mild emotional discomfort due to the topic of the survey being related to medical school admissions and applications. Otherwise, it is unlikely that there will be any harms or discomforts.

While filling out the survey, you do not need to answer questions that you do not want to answer or that make you feel uncomfortable. You may complete the survey at your own pace and take breaks if you want to.

What are potential benefits of doing this study?

This study will help medical school leaders to better understand how their admissions criteria and processes impact APs. These insights can help to inform the ongoing evolution of medical school admissions criteria and processes in ways that will better account for the impacts of the criteria themselves on applicant behaviour and well-being. This study could also facilitate the refinement of admissions criteria for future applicants, and potentially enhance the recruitment of future physicians.

There is no compensation for participation in the study, but participants will be invited to enter a lottery for 1 of 10 $20 Amazon gift cards. If you enter the lottery, your contact information will be collected via a completely different survey and will not be linked to your survey responses in any way.

How will my information be protected?

You are participating in this study confidentially. We will not collect your name or any information that would allow you to be identified. No one will know whether you participated unless you choose to tell them. Participation in the study will not affect your chances of getting into medical school. Medical school admission teams will not know whether you participated in this study unless you choose to tell them.

The information/data you provide will be stored as part of a password protected file of aggregated data. No personally identifying information will be collected.

What if I change my mind about being in the study?

Your participation in this study is voluntary. It is your choice to be part of the study or not. If you decide to be part of the study then change your mind, you can stop (withdraw) part-way through. In that case, you may exit the survey and we will not use your information in the study.

However, if you complete the study and press “submit” at the end, you cannot withdraw from the study. This is because we do not collect information about who you are (identifying information), so we cannot match your answers to the information we have collected in order to remove it. You will have a chance to re-affirm your willingness to participate before submitting your answers.

None of the questions in the study are mandatory. You can skip any questions you do not want to answer.

If you have questions or need more information about the study itself, please contact the student investigator, Isabella Honeyborne, at:   IMACstudy@mcmaster.ca

This study has been reviewed by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (HiREB). The HiREB is responsible for ensuring that participants are informed of the risks associated with the research, and that participants are free to decide if participation is right for them. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please call the Office of the Chair, HiREB, at 905.521.2100 x 42013. For the purposes of ensuring proper monitoring of the research study, it is possible that representatives of the Hamilton Integrated REB (HiREB), this institution, and affiliated sites or regulatory authorities may consult your research data to check that the information collected for the study is correct and follows proper laws and guidelines. By participating in this study, you authorize such access. By participating in this study you do not waive any rights to which you may be entitled under the law.                     

I have read the above information. I understand that by clicking the “NEXT” button below, I agree to take part in this study under the terms and conditions outlined above. 

This study has been approved by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board under Project #16675