Ignorance Is Not Bliss: A Systematic Review on the Impact of Ignoring UK Medical Students During Clinical Placements.

Abstract

Introduction: Ignoring medical students on clinical placements is a form of mistreatment that is often overlooked. It is unclear how much research has been done on the topic. We performed the first United Kingdom (UK)-based systematic review on the topic of ignoring medical students. We employed a novel technique that incorporated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with the review.

Methods: With the assistance of AI, Boolean search terms were generated to search through five databases in July 2025. Studies that described UK medical students being ignored were included in the final analysis. Inductive thematic analysis was performed to identify common themes between the studies. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist for qualitative studies and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for mixed-methods studies were utilized to assess study quality.

Results: Six studies met the criteria to be included in the final analysis. Four common themes were identified when it came to ignoring medical students: exclusion from learning opportunities, emotional and professional invisibility, reporting barriers, and conflicting priorities between medical students and staff. Most of the CASP and MMAT points were met for the included studies, although studies had a small sample size, were often single-center studies, and had a skew toward students in the Midlands.

Discussion: This novel AI-assisted systematic review provided vital information on how and why medical students are ignored in the UK. We propose that a vicious cycle exists when it comes to ignoring medical students. Specifically, students feel ignored, which leads to demotivation, ultimately resulting in disengagement. This leads to staff feeling as though students are uninterested, resulting in further ignoring of medical students. There is limited literature on the prevalence of ignoring medical students, and this is something that needs to be explored in the future.