Earlier this week it was revealed that RCGP council member Dr Una Coales was being investigated by the college over a book advising MRCGP candidates on how to 'neutralise bias' from the college's examiners. The college also distanced itself from the book.
In a response to the investigation, Dr Coales defended her advice. She said: ‘The bottom line is that however hard you try, and the RCGP tries very hard, you cannot ever be sure that you have eliminated subjective bias entirely. So what is the candidate to do?'
Dr Coales said that some of the examples she used in her book to demonstrate pitfalls faced by students, such as acting ‘overtly gay’, were ‘over-emphasised, simplistic and perhaps brutal’.
But she went on to explain the reasons behind using such examples: ‘This is deliberate as many candidates are in denial either about how they themselves come across or, at least in my opinion, of the importance of giving consideration to these issues.'
