University of Sheffield increases places for medicine students

26th March 2018

The University of Sheffield is increasing the number of places available for medicine students Expansion of medical education aims to meet the future workforce needs of the UK's healthcare system Increase in undergraduate places opens the door for more students to gain high quality medical education and training to enter medical profession The University of Sheffield is increasing the number of places available for students in its Medical School as part of a new government initiative announced this week (20 March 2018).

The scheme, unveiled by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and NHS England, enables the University to recruit 50 additional students to its undergraduate medicine degree programme from September 2019. The expansion opens the door for more students to gain high quality medical education and training in order to enter the medical profession. Medical courses are currently heavily oversubscribed, however the scheme opens up new opportunities for aspiring doctors and medical professionals. The University of Sheffield submitted the bid for 50 additional places as part of a collaboration with NHS Trusts from across the region. The University-led bid aims to meet the future workforce needs of the UK's healthcare system on a local and national level. As part of the expansion, the University will collaborate with partners to increase the number of medical graduates trained in South Yorkshire with the aim of addressing the deficit of healthcare professionals in the region. The University of Sheffield's Medical School has one of the highest retention rates of students wishing to remain and pursue their Foundation Year training in the Yorkshire and Humber region, according to the UK Recruitment Stats and Facts Interim Report April 2017. Professor Deborah Murdoch Eaton, Dean of Medical Education at the University of Sheffield, said: -Expanding medical education is enabling the University of Sheffield to respond to the future needs of the UK's healthcare system. We can now train more doctors and develop more high quality medical professionals to work in hospitals, GP surgeries and clinics both in South Yorkshire and across the UK. -The expansion also enables us to widen participation in medical education. We're creating opportunities for more people to train in what is a highly competitive subject in order to train doctors that are more representative of the communities they serve. She added: -Medical education at the University of Sheffield has become increasingly focused upon the recruitment and retention of local people from across a breadth of schools and colleges to best serve the populations of Yorkshire and the Humber and surrounding areas. Our widening of medical education aims to support national healthcare policy to help recruit doctors to areas where there are fewer doctors per head of population and to specialities of greatest need, such as General Practice and Psychiatry. By increasing the number of places available for medicine students, the University of Sheffield is working with partners across South Yorkshire to: Develop a workforce to improve out of hospital care Create the safest, high quality health and social care services Deliver value for money Prevent ill health and support people to live healthier lives Support research, innovation and growth Build the workforce for the future Improve services through the use of digital technology, information and transparency Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, Vice-President and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Medicine, Dentistry and Health at the University of Sheffield, added: -There is ample evidence to illustrate the chronic shortage of GPs in South Yorkshire, so by expanding medical education at the University we can help to address that shortage and build a better workforce for the future of the UK's healthcare system. -Graduates from the University of Sheffield are some of the brightest and most talented people to enter the medical profession. They also volunteer in our region's hospitals and surgeries throughout their time studying with us and go on to become crucial members of health services in the UK. We are delighted we can now increase the number of medicine students that we train and offer more opportunities for aspiring doctors and medical professionals. The expansion also enables the University to increase the number of places available to students from under-represented backgrounds by recruiting students from areas of South Yorkshire where the study of medicine is typically low. The University will also launch a new Four Year Graduate Entry route, which would enable suitably qualified science graduates to enter the second year of the current medicine programme. The University of Sheffield's Medical School trains world class clinicians who prolong and improve lives every day. It consists of three research departments and an academic unit with a proud track record of discovery and innovation. Study Medicine at the University of Sheffield