Differential Attainment
Differential attainment refers to the differences in educational and career outcomes experienced by different groups of doctors throughout medical training. These differences can be seen across both undergraduate and postgraduate training, including areas such as recruitment, examination performance, and progression through training.
The groups affected by differential attainment may differ by characteristics including:
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Ethnicity
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Gender
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Age
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Other social, educational, or contextual factors
Examples of differential attainment include differences in:
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Medical school assessment outcomes
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Postgraduate examination pass rates
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Recruitment success
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Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) outcomes
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Progression through specialty training
The General Medical Council (GMC) has highlighted that:
“The causes of differential attainment, by which we mean the gap between the attainment levels of different groups of doctors in recruitment, exam pass rates, and ARCP outcomes, are not fully understood and neither do we know what interventions are effective in addressing it.”
The causes of differential attainment are complex and multifactorial. They are not fully understood, and research continues to explore the contributions of factors such as access to support, socioeconomic background, educational experiences, workplace culture, unconscious bias, discrimination, and differences in opportunities for career development.
Addressing differential attainment requires recognising that differences in outcomes do not necessarily reflect differences in ability or commitment. Instead, it requires healthcare organisations to identify and address barriers that may prevent doctors from reaching their full potential.
Ultimately, tackling differential attainment is important not only for fairness and equality among doctors, but also for improving the quality, diversity, and safety of healthcare delivery.
This framing also works well for interviews because it demonstrates understanding of health inequalities, inclusion, fairness, and organisational responsibility, rather than implying that attainment differences are due to individual capability.