The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping review
Background: With one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita in Europe, coupled with an ageing UK population, the NHS faces an unprecedented workforce crisis. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) outlined how this will be addressed, headlining a proposed doubling of UK medical school places....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Future Healthcare Journal |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2514664525000578 |
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| author | Eli C. Sassoon Rhiannon C. Craig David G. O’Brien |
| author_facet | Eli C. Sassoon Rhiannon C. Craig David G. O’Brien |
| author_sort | Eli C. Sassoon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: With one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita in Europe, coupled with an ageing UK population, the NHS faces an unprecedented workforce crisis. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) outlined how this will be addressed, headlining a proposed doubling of UK medical school places. Methods: A scoping review utilising the Arksey and O’Malley model searched articles related to increasing UK medical student numbers. A total of 6,217 articles were identified, and 23 were selected for further analysis. Results: Funding was the most frequently raised concern, followed by educator shortage, limited stakeholder engagement, placement capacity shortage, and failure to support Widening Access agendas. Notably, seven articles were opinion pieces, with only two formal research papers. Conclusion: Key issues to implementing the current LTWP were identified, and further research to address these challenges and identify potential solutions is urgently required to support evidence-based decision making to influence future workforce plans. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cfcfd4b8541d4944a72c94ebe5d4d2ee |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2514-6645 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Future Healthcare Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-cfcfd4b8541d4944a72c94ebe5d4d2ee2025-07-27T04:56:17ZengElsevierFuture Healthcare Journal2514-66452025-09-01123100278The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping reviewEli C. Sassoon0Rhiannon C. Craig1David G. O’Brien2Corresponding author.; Education Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UKEducation Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UKEducation Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UKBackground: With one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita in Europe, coupled with an ageing UK population, the NHS faces an unprecedented workforce crisis. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) outlined how this will be addressed, headlining a proposed doubling of UK medical school places. Methods: A scoping review utilising the Arksey and O’Malley model searched articles related to increasing UK medical student numbers. A total of 6,217 articles were identified, and 23 were selected for further analysis. Results: Funding was the most frequently raised concern, followed by educator shortage, limited stakeholder engagement, placement capacity shortage, and failure to support Widening Access agendas. Notably, seven articles were opinion pieces, with only two formal research papers. Conclusion: Key issues to implementing the current LTWP were identified, and further research to address these challenges and identify potential solutions is urgently required to support evidence-based decision making to influence future workforce plans.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2514664525000578NHS long term workforce planWorkforce planningNHS workforceUndergraduate medical education |
| spellingShingle | Eli C. Sassoon Rhiannon C. Craig David G. O’Brien The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping review Future Healthcare Journal NHS long term workforce plan Workforce planning NHS workforce Undergraduate medical education |
| title | The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping review |
| title_full | The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping review |
| title_fullStr | The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping review |
| title_short | The challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the UK: A scoping review |
| title_sort | challenges of expanding medical student numbers in the uk a scoping review |
| topic | NHS long term workforce plan Workforce planning NHS workforce Undergraduate medical education |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2514664525000578 |
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