Mission-led programmes as a solution to workforce challenges? ScotGEM graduates’ career destinations

A shortage of general practitioners is a growing concern in many countries, particularly in remote and rural areas ¹. In Scotland, these shortages amount to a crisis ^2,3. The Scottish Graduate-Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) programme, launched in 2018, aims to provide students with positive experiences in generalism and rural settings, thereby encouraging careers in these underserved areas.

This study presents an updated evaluation of ScotGEM students’ career intentions and destinations. It triangulates data from an ongoing career intentions survey completed by students during their studies, with new data on career destinations for three cohorts of graduates and new qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews with ScotGEM alumni (n=11).

To date, the vast majority of ScotGEM graduates have remained within Scotland for Foundation Training. Specialty training data from the first cohort indicate a diverse range of chosen fields, including General Practice and other specialties essential for strengthening healthcare provision outside Scotland’s major population centres. We explore alignment between reported career intentions and initial career outcomes. Influences on career choices are explored in more depth within the qualitative data, including the impact of the curriculum, ethos of the programme and return-of-service bursary.

Overall, these findings suggest that mission-led medical education programmes like ScotGEM can contribute to addressing workforce challenges in underserved areas.