Experiences of under-represented and widening participation medical students during their time at medical school

Medicine as a profession is increasingly looking to widen the characteristics of those that become doctors to be more reflective of the population as a whole.  Nationally, there has been much focus on widening access (i.e. increasing the number of students from backgrounds of traditionally low participation in higher education) but less focus on the support of these students after they enter university.

This project is investigating the experiences of students from under-represented groups during their time at medical school and exploring whether any additional activities should be in place to support these students during their studies. We are particularly interested in the experiences of students who completed a Gateway Year (as the 1st year of a 6 year MB BS) compared to the experiences of students who directly entered Year 1 of a Medicine programme (5 year MB BS).

By having a deeper understanding of the experiences of students from under-represented/widening participation groups, we hope to better recognise the challenges they face in medical school and identify effective support to empower all students.

Poster at York Learning & Teaching conference, March 2022

Invited talk at the National Medical Schools Widening Participation Forum - Teaching, Learning and Student Success sub-group, March 2022

Invited talk at the National Medical Schools Widening Participation Forum Summer Meeting, Birmingham, June 2022

Oral presentation and poster at Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference, London, June 2022

Discussion paper at the University of Hull 2022 Annual Summer Learning and Teaching Conference, July 2022