Medical school admissions personnel have identified 15 core competencies that are necessary to be a successful medical student and eventual physician. The competencies are grouped into four categories: interpersonal, intrapersonal, thinking/reasoning, and science. The 15 competencies that are considered essential are:

1. Service orientation

2. Social skills

3. Cultural competence

4. Teamwork

5. Oral communication

6. Ethical responsibility to self and others

7. Reliability and dependability

8. Resilience and adaptability

9. Capacity for improvement

10. Critical thinking

11. Quantitative reasoning

12. Scientific inquiry

13. Written communication

14. Living systems

15. Human behavior

Up to this point, however, screening for competencies has not been a component of the medical school admission process.  An article in Academic Medicine explores how competencies can be assessed.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting