Boys in Ireland are outperforming their female counterparts when it comes to securing medical school places, new research has shown. 

Published in the Irish Medical Journal and conducted by scientists at University College Cork (UCC), the study found that male medical school applicants scored higher than girls in both the Leaving Certificate and Health Professionals Admissions Test (HPAT) examinations.

The authors noted this was surprising because female students generally tend to do better than boys in the Leaving Cert overall. The report - which looked at the results of boys and girls who applied for undergraduate medicine between 2009 and 2011 - also found no evidence to suggest there is any gender bias attached to the HPAT exam.

Authors Siun O'Flynn, Anne Mills and Tony Fitzgerald of UCC's School of Medicine wrote: "We wonder whether external factors such as the prevailing economic climate may have influenced applicant behaviour. It is known that male applicants to medicine tend to increase in times of economic uncertainty."

They added high-performing males in Ireland may be drawn to a career in medicine because of the apparent security it offers. 

Written by Donal Walsh

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