Research

Using data to improve medical training

Understanding how medical students and resident doctors progress through their education and careers is crucial for improving training systems, addressing workforce needs, and ensuring equitable opportunities in healthcare.

By using comprehensive, longitudinal data, researchers can uncover valuable insights into career paths, and drive evidence-based improvements in both medical education and workforce planning.

Understanding medical education through UKMED

The UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) provides researchers with a powerful tool to explore how individuals progress through medical education and training in the UK. By connecting data across the entire educational journey, from pre-university qualifications to postgraduate training and career outcomes, UKMED enables research that sheds light on the factors influencing medical careers.

UKMED supports a wide range of research topics, including:

medical selection processes
academic performance
workforce planning and forecasting
equality and diversity in medical education

Accessing UKMED data

Researchers can apply for access to the database through the UKMED website.

Applications are reviewed twice a year, and proposals must demonstrate a clear research purpose aligned with UKMED’s governance and data use policies.

Draft Review Window

Your team may benefit from support from the UKMED team before submission. To assist with this, we are trialing a draft review window between 16 February 2026 and 10 March 2026, during which we can review a draft application and provide tailored feedback ahead of the next submission window.

If this trial is successful, we plan to make draft review mandatory for all new researchers ahead of the Autumn 2026 submission window, which will run from 17 August to 11 September 2026.

Please send any drafts to info@ukmed.ac.uk during these periods.

Next application window is April 6 2026 - April 27 2026 at 12:00 noon GMT. See all upcoming application windows here.

The UKMED Research Flowchart

Resources to support applications for research datasets - Description

Welcome pack PDF for prospective applicants A guide for researchers ahead of making an application.
Process for completing UKMED research A guide detailing the steps to be taken in accessing the database.
Data Dictionary Person and Event \| Reference Tables The types of data available for research.
Ethics Approval Guidance A guide for researchers seeking ERC approval or exemption.
Guidance for researchers wanting to include third-party data Information on using UKMED data together with data you already hold.
Application form (reference) An MS Word version of the application form. For reference purposes.