GMC reports on differential attainment in doctors in training also found that women were 10% more likely to be offered a place on training programmes across all specialities than men.
While 81% of white UK-trained applicants received an offer for training, just 72% of UK-trained BME doctors received an offer.
UK-trained BME doctors were more likely to be offered a place than white doctors not trained in the UK, suggesting that attending a UK medical school is also an important contributor in securing a training placement.
The report compiles recruitment data from 2012-2014 for trainees entering training programmes after completing their F2 year and examinations data from the medical royal colleges for the 2013/14 academic year.
GP workforce shortage
The results come as general practice in the UK faces huge workforce shortages, and just a year after the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) took the RCGP to court, claiming that its entrance exams were discriminatory against BME candidates.
Although the High Court ruled that the CSA exam was legally fair, the RCGP and GMC have since been spurred into action to bridge the gap between BME and white pass rates.
GMC chief executive Niall Dickson said: ‘We have to treat this new information with care – the exam data is only based on one year’s figures and we do not yet understand why these differences occur. But being open about all this is a vital first step to analysing what is going on and doing something about it.
‘We must never compromise standards but if we are going to achieve a high quality and fair system of training doctors for the future, we need to understand more about how doctors are progressing through their training now.’
