The medical student association is working to get added to the new Commonwealth paid placement scheme.
With the legislation to fund paid placements for nursing, midwifery, teaching and social work students now tabled in parliament, the Australian Medical Students Association is leading one last push to get med students included.
“This degree, if it’s not made more financially accessible, prices out the most disadvantaged medical students,” AMSA president Allen Xiao told The Medical Republic.
“They’re the ones that become the doctors that we need the most, and we’re letting the minister know that it’s a matter of urgency for our medical workforce.
“Even though they’ve promised to review the Commonwealth paid payment scheme to include more professions in the future, that’s an entire generation of medical students who are going to go without support.”
The $320 per week payment will be means-tested and is set to begin in mid-2025 if passed.
Nursing and midwifery students complete a minimum 800 hours of unpaid clinical placements over their course, which increases to 1500 hours for those doing double degrees.
Medical students do around 2000 hours.
“[And that] is a pretty conservative estimate,” Mr Xiao said.
“I think some medical schools around the country with a few more clinical years would clock in at around 3000 hours [or more].”
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Because of the high study load, he said, students were often forced to make a choice between studying medicine and supporting themselves.
Third-year Western Sydney University Ghanieh Daghagheleh, who is also a single parent and a nurse, told TMR that medical degrees were particularly difficult to navigate as a mature-aged student.
“Education should be accessible to everybody, and we should feel safe and comfortable while … trying to become a good doctor and serve the community in future,” she said.
“So not having that support [means that I] mostly work weekends, and I do long hours.
“It’s just really difficult and challenging having a normal life nowadays.”
AMSA started a petition to get medical students included on the paid placements scheme in May; it has around 12,000 signatures.
