Help for Medical Students to Prevent Doctor Shortages

new-zealand-first-party

Thu Mar 05 2015 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Help for Medical Students to Prevent Doctor Shortages

Thursday, 5 March 2015, 2:15 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party

Barbara Stewart

Spokesperson for Health
5 MARCH 2015

Help for Medical Students to Prevent Doctor Shortages

New Zealand First supports the New Zealand Medical Students’ Association’s call for targeted exemptions for full time medical students from the seven year limit on access to student loans.

“Full time medical students are unfairly disadvantaged by the current seven year lifetime limit on their student loans, says New Zealand First Health Spokesperson Barbara Stewart.

“Rural New Zealand is desperately short of doctors wanting to practice in their communities, but this roadblock from the government is stopping New Zealanders who want to work in the medical profession from finishing their qualifications.

“It can take up to nine years for approximately 30 percent of students to gain their medical qualifications.

“Under the current scheme, students who go over the 7EFTS (Seven Year Equivalent Full Time Study) lifetime limit are under immense financial pressures in addition to the stress of studying.

“This government scheme is particularly unfair to students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Equal access to medical degrees is being compromised.

“New Zealand First is calling for changes to the 7EFTS cap to allow up to 10 years of student loan support to be available for students completing medical degrees.

“Only when we remove these unnecessary barriers to students who want to become doctors, can rural New Zealand hope to achieve the level of medical practitioner staffing they need,” says Ms Stewart.

ENDS

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