The UK Medical Education Database, or UKMED, is a resource for researchers to better grasp how students, trainees and doctors move through medical education and their future careers. By linking data from pre-university qualifications to course performance and postgraduate training, along with various other measures, it is possible to understand the factors that affect how doctors progress through different training pathways.
Access to the database is controlled through an application process. Applications are made electronically through the UKMED website and then evaluated by committee. Applications are taken twice yearly, with information about future application rounds released through the UKMED website and newsletter alerts.
UKMED is run jointly by the Medical Schools Council and the General Medical Council. Its pilot phase ran from 2015 to 2016 and following successful evaluation from stakeholders it has been operating since 2017. A number of research projects have been completed using the UKMED data.
Stakeholders
- Academy of Royal Colleges
- Biomedical Admissions Test
- British Medical Association
- Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans of the United Kingdom
- General Medical Council
- Graduate Medical Schools Admissions Test
- Higher Education Statistics Agency
- Medical Schools Council
- NHS Education for Scotland
- NHS Health Education England
- Northern Ireland Medical & Dental Training Agency
- UK Foundation Programme Office
- University Clinical Aptitude Test
- Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
- Wales Deanery
UKMED Research Conference 2019
The first UKMED Research Conference was held on 15 March 2019. It was attended by undergraduate medical school staff and researchers, as well representatives of the Medical Schools Council, the General Medical Council, the Department of Health and the Scottish Government.
During the conference researchers using UKMED data presented their findings from published and ongoing projects. They also shared tips for maximising the potential of the database. The GMC speakers explained the legal basis for using the data for research and provided information on available data types.
Read the full report here.