Petition Funding for Postgraduate Medical Students

Funding is unavailable for graduates who propose to study on a 5 year medicine course. Loans are available for graduates on a graduate entry medicine programme (GEP) in light of the increased tuition fees, although there is no such offer for graduates on the 5 year course. Many graduate students apply to 5 year courses; the prospect of finding £9,000 a year without a student loan places the course out of reach of the majority. Students unable to get into medicine at A-level chose their degree specifically to use it to enter medicine as a grad; the recent unexpected hike in tuition fees has left these students lost and trapped. An exemption should be applied to graduates on the 5 year course. Loans should be available; the employment prospects after completion of this degree mean the loan is a 'safe bet' for Student Finance England. At a time when the government is focused on improving the NHS, it seems counterintuitive that medical student recruitment is restricted in such a way.