Medical students and debt!

pkonline

Was just reading something about the kinds of debts medical students are faced with. I'm already £20K into my student loan and only in my 4th year, the prospects of paying all this off is extremely depressing! Plus the costs of travel, living in London, books, equipment, electives over the next 2 years, its only gona inflate.

Plus there isnt much time to get a part-time job to try and claw some money back in.

What do pple think? Should there be special help/bursaries for those doing medicine? We have the NHS bursary for yrs 5 and 6 but for many that is quite tiny compared to what we actually need.

Besides studying 2 years longer than a normal honours degree, are there any major costs with medicine that aren't associated with other degrees? I don't see the problem in the long run in all honesty, doctors have a guaranteed job for life, with a solid salary so paying it back won't be an issue surely?

Reply 2

pkonline

OP

8

Pav27

Besides studying 2 years longer than a normal honours degree, are there any major costs with medicine that aren't associated with other degrees? I don't see the problem in the long run in all honesty, doctors have a guaranteed job for life, with a solid salary so paying it back won't be an issue surely?

Things like books, steths and other equipment, travelling to hospitals, elective, in addition the limited time u have to get a part-time job.

And that guaranteed job isnt really the case nowadays - there are increasing numbers of doctors, mainly at the SHO stage, that cant find jobs! Plus the pay for the hours and work u do, at the junior level, is about £20K - pretty small compared with the debt u have.

Reply 3

pkonline

Things like books, steths and other equipment, travelling to hospitals, elective, in addition the limited time u have to get a part-time job.

And that guaranteed job isnt really the case nowadays - there are increasing numbers of doctors, mainly at the SHO stage, that cant find jobs! Plus the pay for the hours and work u do, at the junior level, is about £20K - pretty small compared with the debt u have.

But it's paid back proportionally to the amount you earn, so the deductions from your income wouldn't be very noticeable while making sure you pay the whole sum back, eventually.

Reply 4

Elles

17

I had that cheerful reading too, PK! :p:

the aspect i'm not sure i fully agree with is the rational for certain other healthcare subjects having their fees paid/bursary given throughout (& even paid sandwich years! :eek:

) - whereas for standard medicine you have quite a few years of paying your own & having to take out the full loan, plus a far longer overall student experience before you start being paid...*

the argument i've heard - medicine pays "better" eventually thus students need less financial incentive, but given those other healthcare graduates would also be paying student loans etc. back proportionally to the amounts they earn, doesn't seem very fair, just exploiting the popularity of medicine compared to some other equally important healthcare subjects...

* NB - based on the old system - no idea how top up fees fit in, i'm afraid!

Reply 5

xx hannah xx

3

I think we should get some sort of help for medical & dentistry students. It doesn't seem particularly fair that we do have to buy more books, equipment etc than most other students, and yet get no extra financial support for it. Also, the starting wages for doctors really aren't that great..areas such as business are so much better paid!

Reply 6

I'll be £20K in debt after this year (2nd)...

Reply 7

xx hannah

I think we should get some sort of help for medical & dentistry students. It doesn't seem particularly fair that we do have to buy more books, equipment etc than most other students, and yet get no extra financial support for it. Also, the starting wages for doctors really aren't that great..areas such as business are so much better paid!

But it also costs the government significantly more to train each doctor than it costs them to put someone through your average degree.

--------------

Fluffy

I'll be £20K in debt after this year (2nd)...

Accumulated 20k debt in two years, or since you began university on your initial course?

Reply 8

Doing medicine.

We're not all blessed with rich mummies and daddies...

Reply 9

Hawk

1

Ahem before you all start complaining think of Veterinary Students.
We have all the same costs incurred for equipment/books etc. (if not more) and the same 5 year degree, but we got no help what so ever.
No 5th/6th year bursaries, so you are lucky that you get anything!

Reply 10

Hawk

Ahem before you all start complaining think of Veterinary Students.
We have all the same costs incurred for equipment/books etc. (if not more) and the same 5 year degree, but we got no help what so ever.
No 5th/6th year bursaries, so you are lucky that you get anything!

Your starting salaries are infinitely better than ours though...

Reply 11

Elles

17

Pav27

But it also costs the government significantly more to train each doctor than it costs them to put someone through your average degree.

i wonder how the % of medical graduates working for "the government" at some point in their career compares to those of "your average degree"? :p:

Reply 12

Hawk

1

Fluffy

Your starting salaries are infinitely better than ours though...

Are you sure?
Ive always been told that Medicine/Dentistry have higher starting salaries than us vets? :confused:

Reply 13

We start on £19K basic.

Reply 14

Fenella

Fluffy

We start on £19K basic.

No-one gets paid just a basic salary though - with banding it's between 26 and 30K, in London some PRHOs earn (with weighting) up to 32K. And the salary increases pretty much every year, even at consultant level.

Reply 15

Jimmocrates

10

Lets give engineering students and architecture students and all these other students who do long degrees which need specialist equipment more money too! I know its harsh, but I don't accept that anyone taking on a medicine degree didn't know for one minute what yo'd be getting yourselves in for. You also know that there's a big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Also, in the first 2 years inparticularly, no time for a part time job? :-s

Reply 16

Elles

17

do subjects "allied to.." architecture or engineering have their fees paid & bursaries given throughout as a matter of course..? :p:

(see post 5)

& i haven't had time for a part time job during preclinical term time, no, but i have had a full time one during the summer vacation. It's the 3 clinical years which'll be a killer because i doubt i'll have the time for that.. :wink:

Reply 17

Jimmocrates

10

Elles

It's the 3 clinical years which'll be a killer because i doubt i'll have the time for that.. :wink:

Now that is where I think you are right and should get paid. You will be effectively working full time, and that should be recognized as such

Reply 18