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The following is a summary of “What impact does widening participation to medicine have on the medical workforce in the UK: a scoping review,” published in the November 2024 issue of Primary Care by Cronin et al.
Widening participation recruits under-represented groups to medical schools. Workforce outcomes after graduation remain underexplored.
Researchers conducted a prospective study to examine workforce outcomes of medical graduates from widening participation backgrounds in the UK.
They employed scoping review methodology to collate, map, and summarize research in the field. Basic numerical analysis and thematic analysis were performed on the included studies.
The results showed that 17 studies were included, mainly perspective and cohort studies. A gap existed in research on doctors with disabilities. About 4 themes emerged: promoting diversity, boosting recruitment and retention, improving representation, and perpetuating inequalities.
They highlighted positive workforce effects of widening participation but emphasized the need to address ongoing inequalities. Efforts should be made to ensure widening participation students face no further barriers in their careers. Further research on the impact of disability and qualitative studies exploring the experiences of these students in the workforce were recommended.
Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14739879.2024.2426130
