Differential attainment: how can we close the gap in paediatrics?
Laura Kelly1, Sailesh Sankaranarayanan2
1Paediatrics, Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, Birmingham, UK lkelly9@nhs.net.
Archives of Disease in Childhood. Education and Practice Edition
|December 3, 2021
Summary
Differential attainment, the gap in medical education outcomes between demographic groups, significantly impacts UK postgraduate training. Addressing these disparities is crucial for fairness and patient care in paediatrics.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Health Equity
- Professional Development
Background:
- Differential attainment highlights disparities in medical education outcomes across demographic groups in the UK.
- These gaps persist in postgraduate medical education, particularly between UK and international medical graduates (IMGs) and between White British and Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) doctors.
- Such disparities are evident across all medical specialties, including paediatrics, affecting recruitment and progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the background and causes of differential attainment in medical education.
- To explore potential interventions to address these attainment gaps.
- To emphasize the significance of closing these gaps for individual doctors, the paediatrics profession, and patient care.
Main Methods:
- This paper synthesizes existing literature and data on differential attainment in UK medical education.
- It analyzes outcome variations based on demographic factors such as ethnicity and country of primary medical qualification.
- The study reviews recruitment and progression data within postgraduate medical training, specifically within paediatrics.
Main Results:
- Significant attainment gaps exist between different demographic groups in UK medical education, unexplained by ability differences.
- International medical graduates and BAME doctors face the largest disparities in postgraduate medical education outcomes.
- These differences are observed in postgraduate examinations, training post recruitment, and Annual Review of Competence Progression outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Differential attainment poses a significant challenge to fairness and equity in medical education, particularly in paediatrics where IMGs and BAME doctors form a substantial part of the workforce.
- Failure to address these gaps has personal costs for affected doctors and broader implications for the quality of paediatric care.
- Further research and targeted interventions are necessary to close attainment gaps and ensure all doctors can reach their full potential.
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