Dataset Information

Clinical specialty training in UK undergraduate medical schools: a retrospective observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine if increased exposure to clinical specialties at medical school is associated with increased interest in pursuing that specialty as a career after foundation training.

Design

A retrospective observational study.

Setting

31 UK medical schools were asked how much time students spend in each of the clinical specialties. We excluded two schools that were solely Graduate Entry, and two schools were excluded for insufficient information.

Main outcome measures

Time spent on clinical placement from UK undergraduate medical schools, and the training destinations of graduates from each school. A general linear model was used to analyse the relationship between the number of weeks spent in a specialty at medical school and the percentage of graduates from that medical school entering each of the Core Training (CT1)/Specialty Training (ST1) specialties directly after Foundation Year 2 (FY2).

Results

Students spend a median of 85 weeks in clinical training. This includes a median of 28 weeks on medical firms, 15 weeks in surgical firms, and 8 weeks in general practice (GP). In general, the number of training posts available in a specialty was proportionate to the number of weeks spent in medical school, with some notable exceptions including GP. Importantly, we found that the number of weeks spent in a specialty at medical school did not predict the percentage of graduates of that school training in that specialty at CT1/ST1 level (ß coefficient=0.061, p=0.228).

Conclusions

This study found that there was no correlation between the percentage of FY2 doctors appointed directly to a CT1/ST1 specialty and the length of time that they would have spent in those specialties at medical school. This suggests that curriculum adjustments focusing solely on length of time spent in a specialty in medical school would be unlikely to solve recruitment gaps in individual specialties.

SUBMITTER: Vaidya HJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6661606 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Clinical specialty training in UK undergraduate medical schools: a retrospective observational study.

Vaidya Hrisheekesh J HJ Emery Alexander W AW Alexander Emma C EC McDonnell Angus J AJ Burford Charlotte C Bulsara Max K MK

BMJ open 20190717 7

<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine if increased exposure to clinical specialties at medical school is associated with increased interest in pursuing that specialty as a career after foundation training.<h4>Design</h4>A retrospective observational study.<h4>Setting</h4>31 UK medical schools were asked how much time students spend in each of the clinical specialties. We excluded two schools that were solely Graduate Entry, and two schools were excluded for insufficient information.<h4>Main outcome me ...[more]

PMID: 31320343

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Project description:ObjectivesTo better characterise the Awarding Gap (AG) between black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) and white students in UK undergraduate medical education by examining how it affects eight minority ethnicity subgroups (Bangladeshi, black, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, mixed, other Asian background and other ethnic background) and whether the AG varies by medical school attended.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingData extracted from the UK Medical Education Database on students enrolled at 33 UK medical schools in the academic years starting 2012, 2013 and 2014.Participants16 020 'Home' tuition fee status students who sat the University Clinical Aptitude Test on entry to university and obtained a UK Foundation Programme (UKFP) application score on exit.Primary outcome measureUKFP Z-scores on exit from medical school.ResultsThere were significant differences in UKFP Z-scores between ethnicity subgroups. After white students, mixed ethnicity students performed best (coefficient -0.15 standard deviations [SD]) compared with white students, (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.23 to -0.08, p<0.001) and Pakistani students scored lowest (coefficient -0.53 SD, 95% CI -0.60 to -0.46, p<0.001). In pairwise comparisons of scores between all nine individual ethnicity subgroups, 15/36 were statistically significant. The AG varied considerably across medical schools. The largest gap showed the coefficient for BAME was -0.83 SD compared with white students (95% CI -1.18 to -0.49, p<0.001), while the smallest demonstrated no statistically significant difference in performance between BAME and white students (+0.05 SD, 95% CI -0.32 to 0.42, p=0.792).ConclusionsBAME students are significantly disadvantaged by the current UK medical education system. There are clear differences in medical school outcomes between students from different ethnicity subgroups, and the size of the AG also varies by medical school attended. Urgent and effective action must be taken to address the AG and achieve an equal learning environment for our future doctors.

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Project description:BackgroundCancer was the fifth leading cause of death in Sudan general hospitals in 2020, and its incidence is increasing. Medical students' cancer education is key in cancer control. Evaluating the current education is the first step in optimizing it. The aim of this study was to assess undergraduate oncology education in Sudan public medical schools as reflected by the graduates of the year 2021-2022.MethodThis was a cross-sectional institution-based study. A validated online questionnaire was sent between 8 September and 11 November 2022 to graduates who were selected using a stratified random sampling technique from 17 Sudan public medical schools. The data were collected using Google Forms and analyzed using R software version 4.2.2 and Microsoft Excel 2022.ResultsA total of 707 graduates completed the questionnaire. They reported generally poor exposure to oncology. Palliative and radiation oncology in addition to chemotherapy daycare units were never attended by 76.0%, 72.0%, and 72.0% of graduates, respectively. The massed oncology curriculum was associated with increased hours of lectures dictated to medical (p = 0.005), radiation (p < 0.001), and palliative oncology (0.035). It was associated with an increased likelihood of assessment in breaking bad news (p < 0.001), counseling cancer patients (p = 0.015), and oncology-related knowledge (p < 0.001). The massed curriculum was associated with a decrease in interest in pursuing an oncology career (p = 0.037). Students were generally confident in their oncology competencies, and no difference was observed in relation to the curriculum approach (p > 0.05).ConclusionThis study reflected poor exposure to oncology at the undergraduate level in Sudanese public medical schools. The massed oncology curriculum was associated with formal assessment of oncology-related competencies and better exposure to some disciplines, such as radiation and palliative oncology. Nonetheless, it was associated with decreased interest in an oncology career. In spite of the poor exposure, graduates were confident in their skills in oncology-related competencies. Further objective analysis of competence is needed.

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Dataset Information

Clinical specialty training in UK undergraduate medical schools: a retrospective observational study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Clinical specialty training in UK undergraduate medical schools: a retrospective observational study.

Similar Datasets

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