Investigating prospective Genito-urinary medicine trainees’ perspectives on applying to and entering Internal Medicine Training: Barriers and opportunities for support

Millicent Richardson, Maeve Mulchrone, Catrin Thomas, Eleanor Cochrane, Cate Goldwater Breheny, Adhishree Sunilkumar, Amy Lyons, Grace Currie, Liberty-Isabelle Todd, Ella Heath, Lily Edwards, Emma Cartner, Toni Masters, Foundation Programme, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Sexual Health, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Department of Medicine , Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Imperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, School of Medical Education, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Foundation Programme, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Foundation Programme, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Medicine , The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Sexual Health, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, Department of Sexual Health, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

International Journal of STD & AIDS: Clinical practice in sexual health

Published online on February 21, 2026

Abstract

International Journal of STD & AIDS, Volume 37, Issue 6, Page 662-667, May 2026.
ObjectivesGenito-urinary medicine (GUM) in the UK is experiencing a recruitment crisis, with persistently low higher specialty training (HST) fill rates. As completion of Internal Medicine Training (IMT) stage 1 is required before GUM HST, we aimed to ...