The standards of assessment on medical apprenticeships should be the same as traditional medical schools, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
A motion regarding the upcoming medical apprenticeships pilot was brought before the organisation’s annual representative meeting on Tuesday.
It said the scheme is “vital” in addressing the shortage of doctors in the industry.
The medical apprenticeship pilot was announced as part of the government’s NHS workforce plan on Thursday.
We need to make sure that these apprentices, as they are appointed, go through the same examination processes
It will aim to address the shortage of clinical staff alongside other measures such as doubling undergraduate medical places to 15,000 a year, creating new medical schools and ramping up training places for GPs, dentists, nurses and midwives.
The first applications for the pilot are set to open in September 2024.
One part of the motion, that standards of assessment on apprenticeships should be the same as via traditional medical schools, was passed by BMA members.
A BMA representative told delegates qualifications obtained from apprenticeships must be “equal degrees” that “do not devalue not just the apprentice degree, but the entire of the UK degree system”.
They added: “What we need to do is remain engaged. We need to make sure that these apprentices, as they are appointed, go through the same examination processes. They experience the same education.”
Other parts of the motion, including recruiting students from under privileged areas, did not stand.
The motion said it “believes that if medical apprenticeships are to be a tool to address recruitment in under-doctored areas, they must actively recruit from those areas”.
