‘Chris Whitty effect’ fuels rise in school-leavers applying for medicine

Britain’s chief medical officer has inspired thousands more school leavers to apply for careers in medicine during the pandemic, a new report says.

A surge dubbed the ‘Chris Whitty effect’ saw a record-breaking number of teenagers apply for university courses in the medical field for 2021 entry.

Applicant numbers jumped by a fifth compared to the previous year for medicine and a quarter for nursing, data from the Medical Schools Council (MSC) and UCAS shows. 

This will drive up competition for limited places, despite Matt Hancock last year pledging to lift the cap on medical school spaces available in England.

A report by UCAS noted that the arrival of Covid-19 had an ‘immediate impact on applicant behaviour’, adding this ‘continues to unfold as we move into the 2021 cycle.’

It named this the ‘Chris Whitty effect’ after Britain’s chief medical officer, who is often seen at the forefront of Covid briefings throughout the pandemic.

This led an additional 4,400 sixth formers to apply for careers in nursing at the January deadline, up 25 per cent on the previous year, the Where Next? report said.  

The MSC added a record-breaking number of applicants applied for medicine courses for entry in 2021, noting a jump of 20.9 per cent compared to 2020.

There were a total of 28,690 applications, including 24,220 new candidates and 4,470 reapplications.   

Its report said: ‘The consequence of this rise in applications is that the selection criteria universities use in 2021 are likely to be stricter than those used in 2020.

‘In any typical year, medicine is a competitive subject for which to gain entry and is heavily oversubscribed. 

‘The number of places available to study medicine is regulated by the different UK governments and strictly controlled through intake targets.’

It added that there will be a ‘greater competition than usual for places in 2021’, with the number of spaces available remaining the same as in 2020 at around 9,500. 

The UCAS report found eight per cent of students said the pandemic had prompted them to apply for a subject leading to the medical profession.

Another six per cent opted for a subject leading to a different key worker career.

In total, 30 per cent of young people said the pandemic had influenced their choice of subject in some way. 

The report said this is a ‘clear illustration of how external events can, and do, affect student choice.’

It added: ‘When we ask students about their personal experiences of choosing their degree, it is apparent that decision-making is unique to the individual; with motivations ranging from the consciously rational to the unexplainable, and from logical to emotive. 

‘Each person’s decision-making process differs in how long it can take. Some choices are made over a prolonged period, others are made more quickly. ‘   

Several new medical schools have opened in the UK in recent years with the intention of training doctors in areas where there are shortages of medics. 

The jump in applications is not the only evidence of Whitty’s popularity in the UK, with a range of merchandise recently emerging in appreciation of the physician. 

Among them is a £10 mug referencing Dub Be Good to Me, saying: ‘Hands, face, space, walk jam nitty-gritty; You’re listening to advice from Professor Chris Whitty.’ 

There are birthday cards with his face on, with one stating: ‘The science is saying that you are one year older’ – and another: ‘If you’ve planned anything, unplan it.’ 

And there is a range of T-shirts and mugs with the phrase ‘next slide please’ in reference to him asking for a following graphic during the press conferences. 

Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam, who also regularly appears at the press conferences, has also inspired his own range of products from T-shirts to mugs.

Among them is an £8.95 mug saying ‘J.V. Tea’ and a £33.99 hoodie with his face on, saying ‘The Prof. Jonathan Van-Tam Appreciation Society’.

Mr Van-Tam revealed last month that someone had given him a JVT T-shirt, when shown one by Sun deputy political editor Kate Ferguson. 

But Mr Whitty is clearly the most popular, with 290 results for ‘Chris Whitty’ across eBay and Amazon, while ‘Jonathan Van-Tam’ returns 59 over the two websites.

It comes as top medical experts today warned the June end of lockdown will be ‘in doubt’ if the Indian Covid variant sees a surge in serious illness.

Epidemiologist Professor Paul Hunter said that the nation faces an anxious wait to see how serious the outbreaks of the highly contagious strain are and how many people end up in hospital.

Surge testing has already begun in 15 towns including Bolton and Formby and ministers last night approved plans aimed at slowing the spread of the imported strain of Covid-19, after cases doubled in a week.

But Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said that England’s inoculation roll-out would ‘flex’ to tackle the outbreak and the roadmap would continue as planned.

He insisted that the jab could control the impact of the virus strain which has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths in India.

Step Four, involving the almost complete end to Covid restrictions, is due to take place on June 21 if there are no setbacks.

But speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Prof Hunter, who has worked for the World Health Organisation, said: ‘The big question is how many people who are getting the Indian variant will end up requiring hospitalisation.

‘At the moment the hospitalisation rate doesn’t seem to be increasing yet although if this becomes much more common we will almost certainly see some increase.

‘So it’s certainly a concern. I think Step 4 is in doubt in June now, but we really need to see what impact it has on severe disease before we can really be certain.’  

Asked why June 21 is in doubt, he said: ‘Well, because if the epidemic continues to increase, if the Indian variant of the epidemic continues to increase at the same rate as it has over recent weeks, we’re going to have a huge number of cases by June.

‘The issue though is that because it seems to be spreading in unvaccinated younger people at the moment and not yet that much more active in older people maybe we’ll be able to weather it and we’ll still be able to have the step four in June.

‘But if that increases cases in elderly and starts to increase hospitalisations, and puts pressure on the NHS again then I think step four would be in doubt.’

Older people living in areas of high infection are also to be offered their second dose of the vaccine early to protect them.

It means a total of ten million people who are considered to be most vulnerable could have their second doses of the vaccine brought forward to prevent them getting hospitalised if Britain faces a third wave, The Times reported.