Changing geographies of access to medical education in London

This paper highlights the need for health geographers to consider the social and cultural geographies of who gets to train as a doctor. The paper presents a case study of a scheme intended to widen access to medical education for working class students from inner London. This work examines the role of local education markets and cultures of education in shaping the aspirations and achievements of potential future doctors. It employs ethnographic data to consider how ‘non-traditional’ learners acclimatise to medical school. Our findings indicate that the students who succeed best are those who can see themselves as belonging within the education system, regardless of their social and cultural background.