From national policy to Trust-level practice: designing and evaluating a structured mentorship pilot for International Medical Graduate and Locally Employed doctors

Abstract

International medical graduates now constitute 42% of UK licensed doctors, yet documented differential attainment in postgraduate assessment, sustained departures from NHS employment and the absence of structured, evaluated, dyadic mentorship aspiring to Kirkpatrick Level 3 represent an unresolved implementation gap in national policy. This paper describes the design of a structured six-month mentorship pilot at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, comprising ten mentor-mentee pairs matched through an eight-factor scored matrix weighted towards clinical and career alignment. Three mandatory structured meetings are held at months one, three and six, with a mid-pilot review and mentee-completed check-in forms capturing progress and wellbeing after each session. The evaluation framework triangulates Kirkpatrick Levels one to three, Moore's continuing professional development model and the RE-AIM implementation framework, with outcome measures captured at baseline and end of pilot. This QIP-classified pilot aims to close the gap between national policy and local implementation, providing a replicable, low-cost framework for Trusts to support a workforce where connection to the NHS has halved in only three years.