Final-year medics face resit

Exam: Glasgow University uncovers ‘collusion’ in clinical test on ward

Final year medical students at one of Britain’s oldest universities have been told to resit an exam after bosses uncovered evidence of “collusion” among a small number of candidates.

Some 270 undergraduates at Glasgow University’s medical school were given the news yesterday.

The university said the clinical examination they sat this year has been declared “void” as it emerged a handful of students shared information about the test using social media.

Those students now face a disciplinary and fitness to practise process and the fresh exam has been timetabled for early May.

A university spokesman said: “This decision has been made in an abundance of caution to ensure that the skills of our students are rigorously and fairly tested before they graduate in medicine.”

The new exam will take place at the start of May, with any resits resulting from that paper to be taken later the same month.

Professor Matthew Walters, head of the school of medicine, dentistry and nursing, said it was “disappointing” to have discovered the data breach – an “unprecedented” experience for the department.

He said: “In an abundance of caution, and with the interests of the public as our primary concern, we didn’t feelwecould use that examination as the assessment to ensure that our students are fit and ready to graduate and work on the wards.

“Althoughwedidn’thave any evidence that the results of the examhave been compromised, we felt that the safest course of action was to scrap the exam and putonawhole fresh assessment.”

Prof Walters said the resit move has the support of external examiners and the university senate.

It is not expected to affect the overall timetable, which would see students graduate in summer and begin work on the wards in August.