ABSTRACT
A number of initiatives have been introduced to make medicine a more accessible career for a broader spectrum of people. As well as increasing opportunities, these steps in the right direction have allowed people with a variety of skills and life experiences into the fold. The medical profession has been strongly encouraged to take on doctors who reflect the communities that they serve. However, due to grassroots inequalities in education, it remains most accessible for students from higher socioeconomic groups. Access courses are designed to improve the applications of students who wish to go into medicine or other similar courses, but lack the conventional entry requirements. Graduate entry medical courses are a relatively new concept in the UK after being introduced by St George’s University of London and Warwick Medical School in 2000. Graduate entry medical courses are 4-year ‘fast-track’ programmes designed exclusively for graduate students.
