The National Association of Medical Students (ANEM) wants to put on the agenda the discussion about the “non-reimbursed but mandatory” charges associated with the attendance of Higher Education by a Medical student, the president said today.
To Lusa – and in anticipation of the action “Accessibility should not be a mirage!”, scheduled for Tuesday at 4:00 pm at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, – Rita Ribeiro spoke about the costs associated with the study of Medicine, a situation that does not is exclusive to this course, but “becomes even more difficult” in the clinical internship phase, that is, when future young doctors intern in hospitals and/or primary care units outside the geographic area where they are currently located.
“Curricular internships are not restricted to nuclear hospitals. In Minho, Lisbon and the Algarve, distances can reach 90 kilometers. Sometimes they occur in locations with little access or few transport options”, said Rita Ribeiro.
Using the example of Medicine students from the University of Minho, who do clinical internships in the Local Health Units of Braga, Alto Ave (Guimarães area) or Alto Minho (Viana do Castelo), the president of ANEM said she knows that there are students “ doubly displaced.”
“There are those who have a house in Braga and another in Viana do Castelo”, he said, noting that in this case, the University of Minho, “fortunately students have access to the bus between the university centers [Gualtar, em Braga, e Azurém, em Guimarães]but those who go to other locations are left out, namely those in Alto Minho or Gerês, Esposende, Famalicão, Barcelos and Terras de Basto, among others.
“This situation happens in Lisbon and in other regions. Only in Beira Interior is there internal and accessible transport that costs one euro,” she said.
Rita Ribeiro added to the difficulties with housing and transport those associated with the costs of food and study materials and books.
“We know that a displaced Higher Education student needs, on average, 545 euros/month monthly for tuition and housing. Then it’s everything else,” she said, referring to a number obtained through the eight public Portuguese medical schools.
According to these data, meals in healthcare establishments cost, on average, 4.54 euros, a “comparatively high” value if based on, as the president of ANEM told Lusa, 2.77 euros from a social meal in university canteens.
To put this topic on the agenda, ANEM scheduled a meeting for Tuesday of Medicine students who demand better accessibility to Higher Education and invites other associations from other courses to join.
“This initiative serves to mark, in a symbolic way, the beginning of a debate that must be very profound on this matter. We want to involve academic associations, medical schools, but also supervision, through the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, hospitals, local authorities and/or inter-municipal communities or metropolitan areas”, he said.
Among the proposals that they intend to make public is the allocation of monetary funds to the medical student community for expenses associated with transportation to internships, as well as the guarantee of personal protective equipment for all medical students.
In addition, there is a request for financial or in-kind support to obtain mandatory material for clinical internships and the allocation of a value to cover meals associated with clinical internships in a hospital setting.
Founded in 1983, ANEM is the Federation that brings together the associations and nuclei of eight Portuguese public medical schools, representing around 10,500 medical students in Portugal.
