Outreach, selection, retention: a critical examination of widening participation mechanisms in UK medical education

Dueñas, Angelique Nicole

Abstract

While recent years have seen the gradual diversification of the field, medical education in the United Kingdom (UK) continues to face issues recruiting individuals from low and representative socioeconomic backgrounds. Widening participation (WP) programmes aim to ameliorate this by enacting mechanisms to support matriculation of such students. However, the function of many of these mechanisms in medical education is not well explored in the literature. As such, this doctoral work aimed to fill some of the gaps in WP research by critically examining these mechanisms.

Firstly, this work examined outreach as the broadest form of WP, via a grounded theory, qualitative exploration of the phenomena of anatomy outreach, as a specific subfield of medical education outreach. The following portions then examined a more specific form of WP in UK medical education: Gateway to Medicine years. The ‘selection’ component examined how modifications to selection and curricula can impact normal ways of working, using normalisation process theory to understand implementation of a Gateway to Medicine year. This study utilised mixed-methods surveys as data collection. Finally, the ‘retention’ component examined the lived experiences of students who matriculate via Gateway to Medicine years. A Bourdieusian theoretical framework was applied with thematic analysis to explore how field modification interacted with student progression.

Findings indicate that outreach has a large WP potential, but is still limited in reach, appraisal, and understanding of scope. As such, ‘safety nets’ of alternative selection routes to medicine, such as Gateway years, are warranted. However, creation of such routes needs to consider the toll these programmes can have on their faculty, staff, and students. Through novel methodological approaches, this work has implications for improving WP practice and policy, as well as theoretical understanding of mechanisms to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of medical education.

Citation

Dueñas, A. N. (2021). Outreach, selection, retention: a critical examination of widening participation mechanisms in UK medical education. (Thesis). Hull York Medical School, the University of Hull and the University of York. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223387

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 10, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Medical sciences
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223387
• Additional Information: Hull York Medical School, The University of Hull and the University of York
• Award Date: May 1, 2021