theMEDICALSTUDENT
April 2014
The voice of London's Medical Students/www.themedicalstudent.co.uk
FGM
Being prepared as doctors > page 8
A face to the name
Who was James Paget? >> page 22
The Academic Programme Up your street? >> page 10
Sport
JPR cup, varsity & more > page 24
Department of Health extend tuition fee arrangement for another year Chris Smith The Department of Health has agreed to extend current tuition fee arrangements to cover 2015/2016 entry. This deal included maintenance loans and grants, securing access to medicine for an additional year. These arrangements have been extended from 2011 (when tuition fees rose to £9,000) and while the extension is welcomed, long term planning is desperately needed to ensure that medicine remains accessible to all students, not just wealthy ones. The BMA medical student committee is specifically pushing for greater support of graduates, who are more dependent on financial support. The push for support from the BMA could not come at a better time. The NuS Pound in Your Pockets’ survey found that only six out of ten NHS-funded students were in receipt of a student loan. This resulted in medical students being more likely to turn to their parent university or family and friends for financial support. NuS subsequently found that more than two thirds of students were worried about debt. kate McFarlane, Student Finance and Bursary Manager at QMuL, says the worst is yet to come, predicting that “students on the £9k fees” will struggle to support themselves “when they are mid-way through their course”. The interim agreement, extended to 2015/2016, will allow undergraduates in England to continue to access a tuition fee loan for the full cost of years 1-4, with the NHS Bursary covering the fifth year. Graduates starting on graduate entry programmes will continue to self-fund £3,465 in year
1 with a Student Finance England loan covering the remainder £5,535. The NHS Bursary will cover the first £3,465 of year 2-4 tuition fees, with a Student Finance England loan for the remainder. Graduates will continue to remain ineligible for any tuition fee loans until year 5 when they can access the NHS Bursary. Arrangements for 2016/2017 have not yet been confirmed and in light of the recent news that the new £9,000 tuition fees are not profitable for the government, the Department of Health may review this interim policy. In the letter announcing the extended arrangements to the BMA, DH workforce strategy director said “All parties would like to be in a position to implement a solution for the 2016/17 intake but feasibility is dependent on decisions taken on the spending priorities in the next parliament.”
Over 200 final year medical students without a Foundation School job krishna Dayalji The uk Foundation Programme Office (ukFPO) announced earlier this month that 7, 114 applicants had successfully been allocated to a foundation school, with 82% of applicants being allocated to one of their top two foundation school choices – a 4% increase from last year. As anticipated already by foundation schools and applicants alike, there were more applicants than vacancies for the fourth consecutive year. Yet, 97% of applicants have been allocated to a foundation school, to all of whom TMS would like to congratulate.
However, a further 235 applicants have been placed on the reserve list pending allocation over the next few months – almost 1% less than last year. Whether these applicants are allocated a foundation school will be dependent on other students failing final exams or withdrawing from the application process. Professor Derek Gallen, National Director of the ukFPO said he was delighted that we are in a better position than last year with fewer students on the reserve list. Yet, he added: ‘We acknowledge that there is still work to do over the coming months to support those on
the reserve list and ensure they are allocated as soon as possible. ‘The ukFPO and the foundation schools are working hard to make this process go smoothly. As in previous years, we will continue to improve the application process in response to feedback from students and other stakeholders.’ The BMA Medical Students Committee (BMA MSC) co-chair, Andrew Wilson, added: ‘These students face an uncertain future on the reserve list, not knowing where their first jobs as doctors will be during a period of increased pressure with final exams. ‘This is the fourth year of over-
subscription to the foundation programme and we hope the government commits once more to providing additional jobs for this year’s applicants on the reserve list.’ The ukFPO said applicants on the reserve list would be well supported by their medical schools, and kept informed about when the reserve list allocations will take place. An Oversubscription Guide for Applicants created by the ukFPO has also been made available to download from their website (http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/pages/home/ keydocs).