Reforming postgraduate medical education: lessons from the United Kingdom

Abstract

Over the last three years, postgraduate medical education in the UK has undergone the greatest upheaval its history. There has been widespread change and reform, but at the cost of considerable professional and political turmoil. In its wake has been left a generation of disaffected junior doctors, a cynical and confused consultant body and a number of high level resignations. But out of this melting pot have arisen many positive developments and some important new training processes, structures, and relationships. In this paper I will outline these recent UK reforms; highlight the drivers for change both within and outside postgraduate medical education; and describe how training is delivered. I will also point up the areas that have been recently identified by the UK government as key in the future development of ‘a high quality workforce' in the National Health Service [1]. As education has been identified as a key driver for reform, I will go on to describe recent developments in both policy and practice concerning the educational development of the postgraduate medical ‘faculty'.