The Shape of Training review, led by Nottingham University vice chancellor Professor David Greenaway, will gather feedback from GPs and other healthcare professionals on the future of postgraduate medical training.

The review will look at the balance between specialists and generalists and how training can be made more flexible to meet the changing needs of the NHS and patients.

It will also examine how any proposed changes could affect different groups such as patients, doctors in training and organisations responsible for training.

Professor David Greenaway said: ‘The role of doctors is changing rapidly against a backdrop of medical, technological and scientific advances. 

‘Evolving healthcare and population needs, changes to healthcare systems and changing patient and public expectations will all affect how doctors will practise in the future.

‘Shaping the doctors of the future is a hugely important task and we need to consider how postgraduate medical education and training should change to continue to meet the needs of patients and health services in the future.’

This independent review is sponsored by: 

• the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC)
• the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMeD)
• the GMC
• Health Education England (HEE)
• the Medical Schools Council (MSC)
• NHS Education Scotland (NES)
• the Wales Deanery
• the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA)

A written call for ideas and evidence will run from 8 November 2012 until 8 February 2013.