First Year Medical Student Survey: The Relative Prestige of Different
Diseases and Medical Specialities
In the opening week of their first term many of UCL’s new medical students
generously agreed to fill in a short questionnaire asking them to rank different
diseases and medical specialities according to their perceived prestige (low 1
to 10 high). I said I would make the initial results of the survey available to
them as soon as was feasible.
In the tables below I summarize the initial results, presenting the rank orders
of diseases in Table One and of medical specialities in Table Two. Of course
this is just a start. Working with a colleague in Norway, Dag Album, data are
available too on equivalent survey responses on the part of Norwegian
students; and we have yet to subject these comparative data to proper
analysis.
I am making Tables One and Two available here for two reasons. First, I
promised I would feed back to those who filled in questionnaires. But second,
Dag and I would welcome any ‘theories’ students might have about the basic
data: why ‘these’ rank orders? I can be contacted on ‘rmhagns@ucl.ac.uk’.
Table One: Ranking of Prestige Associated with Particular Diseases
Disease
Brain tumour
Leukaemia
Myocardial
infarction
Lung cancer
Pancreatic
cancer
Ovarian cancer
Colon cancer
AIDS
Testical cancer
Thyroid cancer
Kidney failure
Multiple
sclerosis
Pulmonary
embolism
Cerebral palsy
Femoral neck
fracture
Spleen rupture
Extrauterine
Rank
1
2
3
Mean
7.9
7.6
7.4
Stand.dev.
1.5
1.5
1.5
Number
215
214
210
4
5
7.4
7.3
1.7
1.5
211
218
6
7
7
9
10
11
12
7.2
7.1
7.1
7.1
6.9
6.8
6.8
1.3
1.5
2.4
1.6
1.6
1.6
1.7
216
216
218
215
216
214
215
13
6.6
1.7
205
14
15
6.5
6.3
1.7
1.9
213
211
16
17
6.0
6.0
1.6
1.9
209
209
pregnancy
Hepatocirrhosis
Angina pectoris
Schizophrenia
Anorexia
Meniscus
rupture
Fibromyalgia
Depressive
neurosis
Inguinal hernia
Ulcerative
colitis
Apoplexy
Duodenal ulcer
Bechterew’s
disease
Appendicitis
Arthritis
Sciatica
Asthma
Cataracts
Kidney stone
Psoriasis
Anxiety
neurosis
Ankle fracture
18
19
20
21
22
5.9
5.9
5.8
5.6
5.6
1.9
1.8
2.0
1.8
7.1
211
213
215
218
182
23
24
5.2
5.0
1.6
1.9
176
215
25
26
4.9
4.9
1.6
1.5
205
179
27
28
29
4.7
4.7
4.7
1.5
1.5
1.7
175
204
154
30
30
32
33
34
35
36
37
4.6
4.6
4.6
4.3
4.2
4.1
4.1
3.8
2.0
1.9
1.5
2.0
1.9
1.7
1.8
1.7
214
215
186
215
212
215
187
217
38
3.6
1.9
217
Table Two: Ranking of Prestige Associated with Medical Specialities
Medical speciality
Neurosurgery
Cardiology
Neurology
Oncology
General surgery
Thoracis surgery
Paediatrics
Orthopaedics
Gastro-enteric
surgery
Respiratory
diseases
Gynaecology
Oto-rhinolaryngology
Rheumatic surgery
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Mean
8.6
7.8
7.8
7.7
7.5
7.1
6.6
6.5
6.2
Stand.dev.
1.0
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.2
1.5
1.7
1.7
1.6
Number
217
217
217
214
217
215
217
216
217
10
6.2
1.5
213
11
12
5.8
5.8
1.6
1.6
217
204
13
5.7
1.7
215
Anaesthesia
General medicine
Opthalmology
Psychiatry
Rheumatology
Radiology
Physical medicine
General practice
Geriatrics
Dermatovenerology
14
15
15
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
5.4
5.3
5.3
5.2
5.0
4.9
4.8
4.7
4.4
4.1
2.1
1.8
1.8
1.9
1.6
1.9
1.6
2.1
1.9
1.9
217
212
211
217
212
216
207
215
214
217