In their statement of principles, the Council of Heads of Medical Schools indicate that the purpose of a medical education is to graduate individuals well fitted to meet the present and future needs of society for medical care.[1] They go on to state that this can be achieved, at least in part, if the social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds of graduates reflect broadly the diversity of the patient population. It seems that this principle is not currently met by medical schools in the United Kingdom. In a study commissioned by the Council of Heads of Medical Schools in 1998, McManus found that certain groups (students from ethnic minorities, sixth form colleges or further education institutions, and lower socioeconomic groups) were disadvantaged when seeking admission to medical school.[2] As a result, the council devised an action plan in which medical schools were required to draw up policies relating to equal opportunities as a matter of urgency.

In general, the groups of people that are underrepresented in the medical profession tend to be overrepresented in the patient population as a result of many factors, including poverty, poor diet and housing, poor educational standards, and occupational factors. Pupils from lower socioeconomic groups are disadvantaged in many ways when applying for entry to medical education. Their secondary schools are not usually those with a record of high academic achievement, and progression to further or higher education is not a tradition. Similarly, the pupils come from backgrounds where participation in higher education is rare. They often do not have the opportunity to undertake suitable work experience and thus have difficulty demonstrating through their application that they are suitable for a career in a caring profession. As a result, their application forms do not often contain the type of features usually looked for by admissions tutors and may therefore not be considered further.