Travel pullout included for summer inspiration
the
medicalstudent The voice of London’s Medical Students
May 2011
Kings’ slander - review of the UH farce Page 3
Aiming high - an exploration of exam doping Page 6
To conference and ceilidh John Hardie
On 1st and 2nd April, medical students from across the country gathered in Edinburgh for the BMA Medical Stu- dents’ conference, to set Medical Stu- dents’ Committee policy. Over 50 mo- tions were proposed, debated and voted upon by the delegates over the course of two days. Key speeches were giv- en by Karin Pursehouse, MSC chair, Hamish Meldrum, BMA chair, and Ni- all Dickson, Chief Executive and Reg- istrar of the General Medical Council. London medical schools were strongly represented at the confer- ence, proposing motions on Student Fi- nance, the UK foundation programme, Intercalated degrees and electives. Some respite from the serious po- litical debate was provided in the form
of the gala-dinner and appropriately, being in Scotland’s capital, a ceilidh. Johann Malawana, registrar in gynae- cology, doctor on the GMC and former Bart’s boy, set the tone for the even- ing. By his own admittance, his risqué after-dinner speech could be judged successful if it had “offended a good proportion” of those at the conference. The morning after the night be- fore, the Scottish Medical Students Committee’s suggestion that “doc- tors and medical students should be role models for society” was met with some derision from the floor. The Medical Students’ Committee is comprised entirely of medical students, including elected representatives from medical schools and a core executive committee. The MSC’s work involves negotiating with the Government, GMC, U KFPO and the Medical Schools
Council to support student issues. Karin Pursehouse, MSC chair, introduced the overall priority is- sues for the committee over the com- ing year - with fees of £9000 per year confirmed by many universities, local authorities freezing their maximum student loan, and banks withdraw- ing low-interest professional develop- ment loans, students could be landed with an excess of £70 000 of debt dur- ing their medical degrees. Consider- ing these changes, widening access to medicine was highlighted as an im- portant issue, particularly the provi- sion of sufficient student bursaries. Pursehouse also noted that long- term workforce planning was vital in order to prevent graduates from UK medical courses being left with- out jobs, especially as in 2010 there was an oversubscription of 184 plac-
es to the UK foundation programme. GKT’s motion to lobby relevant de- partments to increase student loans in line with inflation was carried. They recognised that the freeze in loans and grants for living costs from Sep- tember 2011 would represent a cut in real terms for students, with the in- flation of the Consumer Price Index set to remain at its current high rate. The MSC conference did not vote in confidence of health and social care white paper, unlike the BMA Special Representatives Meeting earlier in the year, which did not outwardly reject the proposals. The conference raised concerns that the white paper is a con- tinuation of a recent movement towards privatisation in the UK health service. The foundation program was an- other important topic of concern. (cont’d on page 2)
iHave a dream - the pros and cons of smartphones Page 12
Filthy exploits - an exhibition of dirt Page 14