Backing the Next Generation of Medical and Healthcare Students
Goksu Danaci - President of Students’ Union UCL
Russell Group universities host 22 of the UK’s 46 medical schools and train more than 3 in 4 of all medicine and dentistry students. These students will go onto become a vital part of our NHS and at a time when our health service faces acute workforce shortages, so it is a matter of urgency that these students are properly supported throughout their studies.
The NHS staffing crisis is well known. England’s NHS is already short of over 100,000 staff, including around 10,000 doctors and 40,000 nurses, and demand is only growing. A long-term workforce plan has set ambitious targets to plug this gap, including doubling medical school places by 2031 to train more doctors domestically. Russell Group universities will be central to that expansion. However, simply creating more training places won’t succeed if we don’t also support the medical and healthcare students themselves. Worryingly, many of these students struggle to get by and some consider leaving their courses due to financial and practical pressures. In one survey, 4 in 10 UK medical students said they or someone they know had considered quitting medical school because of financial difficulties. This is a clear warning sign: without better support, we risk losing talented future healthcare workers at a time we can least afford it.
Why are medical and healthcare students under such strain?
First, their courses are longer and more demanding than most, often running year-round with intensive schedules. This leaves little time for part-time jobs. Yet, the rising levels of the cost of living is relentless and current financial support often falls short. The NHS bursary, meant to help with costs in later years of study, has not kept pace with inflation or student needs. Financial strain is one of the leading reasons healthcare students leave their courses, as RGSU highlighted in its submission to the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan consultation. These students face higher travel costs and housing needs too, due to mandatory clinical placements across hospitals and community settings. It’s not uncommon for a nursing or medical student to spend weeks on placement far from campus, paying for travel and sometimes accommodation out of their own pocket
As Russell Group Students’ Unions, we have come together to urge the Government to improve support for medical and healthcare students, so they can finish their degrees and join the NHS workforce. Here are some of the key solutions we’re calling for:
Increase NHS bursaries and index them to inflation: The bursary amounts for medical, nursing, and other healthcare students need a significant uplift. These funds should rise each year with the cost of living. No student doctor or nurse should be forced out simply because they can’t afford rent or food during training.
Introduce paid clinical placements: Right now, most healthcare students work on placement in hospitals for free, even though placements are essentially full-time work. This is financially crippling for students who can’t take on paid work alongside training. Stipends or salaries for placement work would ease the burden and recognise the value students contribute in hospitals.
Cover and standardise travel costs: We urge a national policy for reimbursing placement travel expenses – including things like late-night taxis when public transport isn’t an option. Too often, a student’s out-of-pocket costs depend on their university or hospital trust. A fair system would ensure all healthcare students get their travel (and necessary accommodation) covered, so a rural placement or distant hospital rotation doesn’t break the bank.
Flexible and supportive training pathways: Many medical and healthcare students are not 18-year-olds with no outside responsibilities – some are parents, carers, or coming into medicine as a second degree. We’re calling for more flexible placement scheduling and support for those with caring duties or other challenges, so no student is forced to drop out because life circumstances make the standard timetable unworkable.
All these measures share a common goal: to improve retention and well-being among healthcare students, so that more of them make it through to qualification. Every student who drops out due to financial or support shortfalls is a lost potential doctor, nurse, midwife, or pharmacist that our health system desperately needs. As RGSU noted in our NHS consultation response, investing in these students now will pay off in tackling workforce shortages and building a sustainable future NHS.
It’s only right that the Government and universities match the dedication healthcare students give, by providing proper support. By reducing financial pressures and easing practical burdens, we can ensure that talented, passionate individuals from all backgrounds are able to become the health professionals our communities depend on.