Realist evaluation of two HEE GP pilot schemes to address differential attainment

The Health Professions Education Unit and Academy of Primary Care at Hull York Medical School seek to undertake educational research to explore the effectiveness, scalability and implementation of two types of current interventions being piloted within the GP sector run by Health Education England, Yorkshire and the Humber.

The first is an innovative pilot postgraduate longitudinal placement programme. There is a need to look closely at the small scale pilot in order to consider how and whether the initiative can be developed further (“proof of concept”) and explore acceptability to all stakeholders.

The second area we will be looking at is a series of differential attainment interventions currently being trialled. We know that there is currently a gap between attainment levels of different groups of doctors. The aim of the interventions is to ensure that the post graduate training programme is fair to everyone, therefore we need to ensure that these interventions are successful.

A realist evaluation of GP training, on the ground, is needed to understand what needs to change (barriers) and how, but also what doesn’t need to change (enablers). This project will have an early and specific focus on the longitudinal in contact training element, followed by exploration of differential attainment interventions.  

The first study has been completed. The research presents a novel understanding of longitudinal integrated clerkships in a postgraduate education setting. Overall, the In-Contact training programme has been an extremely effective pilot. However, there needs to be better communication and initial information for everyone involved and attention should be paid to the logistical difficulties of the programme.

The second study is ongoing.

Poster presented at DEMEC, Manchester, 2023. Realist evaluation of a longitudinal integrated clerkship in Yorkshire and Humber GP Training.

Report submitted to funder.