David Oliver: Shortening and narrowing training won’t solve the medical workforce crisis

We’re still yet to see the long promised NHS workforce plan for England1 or any equivalent in the devolved nations. Nevertheless, many proposals have been leaked piecemeal to the media, and various commentators on the political right are floating their own half baked ideas to tackle the issue.NHS England’s proposal for apprentice doctors trained in an “earn while you learn” model—albeit with conventional medical schools still overseeing final exams—has been heavily trailed.2 It raises questions around logistics, equivalence, feasibility, and the burden on supervising senior doctors. But given the government’s edict to medical schools in 2022 to cap student places34 at 7500 when the original expansion plan had been for 10 000 and the workforce plan may pledge 15 000,5 it seems clear that government spending is a major driver despite talk of using “doctor apprenticeships”6 to diversify entry to medical training. And last week headlines centred on proposals to…
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