€100k debts force junior doctors abroad

Debts of up to €100,000 could force more newly qualified doctors to seek work abroad, research among medical students suggests.

The study of medical students at University College Cork found that more than one in four who entered directly from school had loans to fund their course or living expenses. The average debt they expect to face after graduating was almost €17,300, but amounts ranged from €2,000 to €100,000.

Almost two-thirds of students on graduate-entry medicine courses had loans, but the average amount outstanding when they qualify was expected to be over €79,500. These students must pay fees of over €14,000 a year, but are ineligible for student grants or other State financial aid, and their loans were between €30,000 and €100,000.

The findings were taken from survey responses of 132 Irish and EU direct-entry medicine students and 59 graduate-entry medicine students. Of the direct-entry medicine students, 91% had free tuition for the full course and one in five received a state-funded grant, far lower than the 43% of all higher-education students who receive financial assistance.

The survey results are published in the latest Irish Medical Journal, in a paper by third-year medical students Brian Doyle and Conor Haugh, and UCC director of medical education Dr Siun O’Flynn. Their research found over 80% of medicine students get financial aid from their families, and 30% of direct-entry medicine and 22% of graduate-entry medicine students worked part time.

The authors say students from poorer backgrounds are already under-represented in Irish medical schools, but their numbers risk falling further as costs continue to rise. With debt being an important factor in the likelihood of medical workforce migration, they say many graduates struggle to pay back around €1,300 a month to service a €100,000 graduate medicine loan, on a monthly salary of €2,072 after tax for newly qualified interns.

“Graduates are voting with their feet, with many opting to leave Ireland in search of better working conditions abroad,” the researchers state.

They point to international research, some of which says medical students who graduate with debt are less inclined to consider a career as a GP, while other studies say those from high-income families are most likely to pursue surgical careers, rather than family practice.

“Medical student debt is a concern for both direct-entry and graduate-entry students but it is also a concern for all stakeholders working to ensure that there is equity of access to medical education and equity of opportunity for all who graduate from medical school,” the researchers said.

The solutions suggested by survey participants include a government-supported low-interest loan, or financial encouragement to do postgraduate medical training in Ireland.