Professionalisation or Credentialism? Fifteen-Year Enrolment Trends in the UK Postgraduate Certificates in Medical Education

IF 1.7 Q4 MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL

Clinical Teacher Pub Date : 2026-09-20 DOI:10.1111/tct.70527

Matthew Bowker, Leah Williams, Michael Atkinson, Chris Tiplady

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Postgraduate qualifications for clinical educators have proliferated internationally, raising questions about whether this reflects professionalisation or a credentialist response to competitive specialty selection. Postgraduate Certificates in Medical Education (PGCMEs) are established in the United Kingdom (UK), yet no published data describe enrolment over time. This research determined PGCME enrolment trends in the UK universities from 2010 to 2024 and interpreted them against this framing.

Methods

Freedom of Information requests were sent to all the UK public universities offering PGCMEs (n = 40), requesting annual enrolment figures. We obtained contextual data on the National Health Service (NHS) workforce size, specialty training competition ratios and application scoring from the NHS England and archived recruitment websites.

Findings

A total of 36 universities (90%) responded. Courses more than doubled (13 in 2010–2011 to 29 in 2024–2025); student numbers rose 41% (1180–1667). Enrolments were stable through the 2010s, jumped in 2020–2021 (1082–1894), then settled at 1600–1700. Against the NHS England workforce, the proportion of doctors enrolled held at about 1%. Training competition rose: general practice ratios from 1.70 to 3.67 and internal medicine training (IMT) from 2.55 to 3.69. The PGCME's IMT scoring weight doubled from 4.7% to 10%.

Conclusion

PGCME provision has grown, but enrolment has not outpaced the expanding medical workforce. The 2020 spike likely reflects pandemic-era online access and scoring reforms. Aggregate data cannot tell us whether holders teach afterwards or move straight into specialty training, how they funded their studies, whether they completed or what proportion are doctors.

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职业化还是资历主义？英国医学教育研究生证书的十五年入学趋势。

背景：临床教育工作者的研究生资格在国际上激增，这是否反映了专业化或对竞争性专业选择的证书主义反应提出了问题。英国设立了医学教育研究生证书（PGCMEs），但没有公布的数据描述一段时间以来的入学情况。这项研究确定了2010年至2024年英国大学PGCME的入学趋势，并在此框架下对其进行了解释。方法：向所有提供PGCMEs的英国公立大学（n = 40）发送信息自由请求，索取年度入学人数。我们从英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）和存档的招聘网站获得了有关国民医疗服务体系（NHS）劳动力规模、专业培训竞争比率和申请得分的背景数据。调查结果：共有36所大学（90%）回应。课程增加了一倍多（2010-2011年为13门，2024-2025年为29门）；学生人数增加了41%（1180-1667）。入学人数在2010年代保持稳定，在2020-2021年（1082-1894年）猛增，然后稳定在1600-1700人。与英国国家医疗服务体系的劳动力相比，注册医生的比例保持在1%左右。培训竞争上升：全科医生的比率从1.70上升到3.67，内科培训（IMT）从2.55上升到3.69。PGCME的IMT评分权重从4.7%增加到10%。结论：PGCME的供应有所增长，但入学人数并没有超过不断扩大的医疗劳动力。2020年的激增可能反映了大流行时期的在线访问和评分改革。汇总的数据无法告诉我们，持股人是后来教书还是直接进入专业培训，他们是如何资助自己的学业的，他们是否完成了学业，以及他们成为医生的比例是多少。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Clinical Teacher MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL-

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

5.60%

发文量

113

期刊介绍： The Clinical Teacher has been designed with the active, practising clinician in mind. It aims to provide a digest of current research, practice and thinking in medical education presented in a readable, stimulating and practical style. The journal includes sections for reviews of the literature relating to clinical teaching bringing authoritative views on the latest thinking about modern teaching. There are also sections on specific teaching approaches, a digest of the latest research published in Medical Education and other teaching journals, reports of initiatives and advances in thinking and practical teaching from around the world, and expert community and discussion on challenging and controversial issues in today"s clinical education.