Is there a sufficient supply of clinical academics for UK medical schools? A retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Clinical academics lead research to deliver medical advancements while also teaching in medical schools to maintain high-quality medical services. The objective of this project was to determine if there is a sufficient supply of clinical academics for UK medical schools.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Influences and outcomes of less than full-time working in the medical profession: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: An impoverished medical workforce is a global phenomenon, which can impact patient care significantly. Greater flexibility in working patterns is one approach policy-makers adopt to address this issue, and the expansion of less than full-time (LTFT) working forms part of this. Studies suggest that LTFT working has the potential to improve recruitment and retention by aligning with how doctors increasingly want to balance their careers with other commitments and interests.

LEARN: A multi-centre, cross-sectional evaluation of Urology teaching in UK medical schools.

Objective: To evaluate the status of UK undergraduate urology teaching against the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) Undergraduate Syllabus for Urology. Secondary objectives included evaluating the type and quantity of teaching provided, the reported performance rate of General Medical Council (GMC)-mandated urological procedures, and the proportion of undergraduates considering urology as a career.

Materials And Methods: LEARN was a national multicentre cross-sectional study.

Retrospective observational study of ethnicity-gender pay gaps among hospital and community health service doctors in England.

Objectives: To identify differences in average basic pay between groups of National Health Service (NHS) doctors cross-classified by ethnicity and gender. Analyse the extent to which characteristics (grade, specialty, age, hours, etc.) can explain these differences.

The transition to consultant: Identifying gaps in higher specialist training.

Background: New consultants consistently feel better prepared for the clinical rather than non-clinical aspects of their role. However, deficiencies in generic competencies have been linked to burnout and patient complaints. This study explored how higher specialty training prepares doctors for the transition to consultant in genitourinary medicine.

Sex differences in fitness to practise test scores: a cohort study of GPs.

Background: Tests of competence are written and clinical assessments taken by doctors under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) who have significant performance concerns. Male doctors on average perform more poorly in clinical assessments than female doctors, and are more likely to be sanctioned. It is unclear why.

Passing MRCP (UK) PACES: a cross-sectional study examining the performance of doctors by sex and country.

Background: There is much discussion about the sex differences that exist in medical education. Research from the United Kingdom (UK) and United States has found female doctors earn less, and are less likely to be senior authors on academic papers, but female doctors are also less likely to be sanctioned, and have been found to perform better academically and clinically. It is also known that international medical graduates tend to perform more poorly academically compared to home-trained graduates in the UK, US, and Canada.

The value of the physical examination in clinical practice: an international survey.

A structured online survey was used to establish the views of 2,684 practising clinicians of all ages in multiple countries about the value of the physical examination in the contemporary practice of internal medicine. 70% felt that physical examination was 'almost always valuable' in acute general medical referrals. 66% of trainees felt that they were never observed by a consultant when undertaking physical examination and 31% that consultants never demonstrated their use of the physical examination to them.

Exploring cultural and linguistic influences on clinical communication skills: a qualitative study of International Medical Graduates.

Background: International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are known to perform less well in many postgraduate medical examinations when compared to their UK trained counterparts. This "differential attainment" is observed in both knowledge-based and clinical skills assessments. This study explored the influence of culture and language on IMGs clinical communication skills, in particular, their ability to seek, detect and acknowledge patients' concerns in a high stakes postgraduate clinical skills examination.

Sex differences in medico-legal action against doctors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The relationship between male sex and poor performance in doctors remains unclear, with high profile studies showing conflicting results. Nevertheless, it is an important first step towards understanding the causes of poor performance in doctors. This article aims to establish the robustness of the association between male sex and poor performance in doctors, internationally and over time.