Out of Roanoke comes news that Virginia Tech Carilion is one of a handful of medical schools assessing applicants based on their people skills in addition to the standard measures of pre-med acumen (like knowing the names of all the muscles and the fact that the pancreas does not actually exist).
In all seriousness (well, most seriousness), this seems like a worthy innovation. For one thing, numerous studies have attributed a large percentage of preventable deaths faulty communications between medical team members, as well as between doctors and patients. Medical-school applicants who display strong interpersonal skills may thus provide significant improvements to the overall healthcare system.
We've long felt that communication skills are often undervalued. In our own tutoring program, we find that the best tutors are not necessarily the 4.0 students, but those with the easiest interpersonal manner. Indeed, when it comes to recruitment, we are always happier to find a "B" student with people skills than an "A" student who's all about "the work." The "people-people" (people-persons?) will almost always have better results.
The only point of concern is that the medical school may turn away qualified applicants who may not perform well enough at their interpersonal "tests." While it may be difficult for an introvert to become a social butterfly, we would hope that people who have displayed the intellectual aptitude and commitment to prepare for a career in medicine would be afforded an opportunity to improve the people skills that will make them great doctors, rather than being summarily turned away.
Besides, if bedside manner had always been a pre-requisite for becoming a doctor, we would never have enjoyed "House."
Solipsistography
"New for Aspiring Doctors, the People Skills Test"
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