MEDICS are urging the Scottish Government to expand a one-year programme that helps students from diverse backgrounds to study medicine.
Widening Access to Medicine, a pre-medical entry programme began in 2017, with Aberdeen and Glasgow universities sharing £330,000 of funding to help students gain the experience and qualifications needed to study medicine.
In its first year, 40 students from a total of 42, completed the course and went on to attend medical school.
And from 2019, the number of places on the course will increase to 50, across the two universities.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said last November: “This course contributes to our commitment to widen access to higher education and enhances the range of medical education already available in Scotland’s five world-leading medical schools.”
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) said the Scottish Government should be more ambitious, and its president, Professor Derek Bell, has called for the number of places on the course to double to 100 for rural and disadvantaged students.
He said the number of students from Scotland’s poorest areas accepting a place to study medicine had grown by 50% in the last five years.
“Students from diverse parts of Scotland can often find it more difficult to access medicine, due to the lack of access to information or advice about the benefits of studying medicine, and what experience and qualifications are required to get into medical school,” said Bell.
“Although this may seem like a basic barrier, we note that there are about 10 applications for every medical school place in Scotland. It’s important, therefore, to level the playing field in this fiercely competitive area.
“While we welcome Widening Access to Medicine, which has had early success, we don’t think that it goes far enough. We want to see more ambition from the Scottish Government in helping create a more diverse medical workforce. Ministers can do that by doubling the number of places for students from diverse backgrounds.”
He added: “More widely, it’s important that both Government and medical professionals play their part in encouraging the next generation of doctors. Ultimately, increasing medical school places is essential, and more needs to be done in terms of recruitment and retention of medical professionals at all grades, in Scotland and the UK.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to a creating more sustainable medical workforce, with 190 more medical student places by 2021, an increase of 22% since 2016.
“We continue to work with the Scottish Funding Council and medical schools to widen opportunities for Scottish students to study medicine.
“This year we will fund 50 pre-medical entry programme places to assist students from less-advantaged areas gain the entry qualifications to study medicine and we review this annually.”
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