Abandon ship! Exploring late-notice withdrawal from dental training positions

INTRODUCTION NHS England Workforce, Training and Education Directorate coordinates national recruitment for postgraduate dental training. Despite adaptations to this process, each year a proportion of trainees accept and then withdraw from dental core training posts at late notice, which can be problematic for trusts. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the reasons behind withdrawal from accepted training posts prior to commencement, the factors that contributed to this decision and what further adaptations to national recruitment could help to reduce late-notice withdrawal. METHODS Qualitative, online, semi-structured interviews were conducted with dentists who had previously accepted and withdrawn from a training post. Participants were recruited via open invitation. Interviews were steered using a topic guide and transcripts were analysed thematically by two researchers. RESULTS Interviews were held with five participants. Themes were identified relating to justification for withdrawal from a post, anxiety and the impacts of the decision to accept or withdraw from a post, the consequences of withdrawal and recommendations for adaptations to national recruitment. CONCLUSIONS Late-notice withdrawal from accepted dental training posts is a multifactorial issue with impacts on numerous parties. Further research is required to determine whether the latest changes to national recruitment have helped to address this longstanding problem.