On the road with Lisa Ross, a passionate medical student from Deakin University. She is beautifully balancing the challenges of being a full-time student with three kids and a mortgage. As Ross approaches 40, she has experienced a life-altering transition. She moved her family from Horsham to Geelong, Victoria, to follow her dream of becoming a doctor. Nevertheless, her spirit and resolve cannot protect her from the hurdles that all non-traditional students face in the arduous world of medicine.
Frustrated by the status quo, Ross has recently led momentum to push for greater flexibility in medical education. She just made a phone call last week to her medical school’s dean. She suggested that Deakin University introduce more flexibility for part-time students to better meet their needs. Her goal is to create a more accommodating environment for future medical students who may be balancing family responsibilities or financial burdens.
Ross’s situation is not unique. A survey of more than 400 final-year medical students from all states and territories across Australia revealed shocking findings. Over three quarters of these students stated that economic distress affected their academic performance and overall health. This scenario highlights the urgent imperative for our nation’s educational institutions to meet the realities that many of today’s aspiring healthcare professionals are experiencing.
The Struggles of Student Life
For Ross, a mother of three, the duties of a parent take precedence over her studies. Just recently, she waited 3 weeks to get an appointment for one of her daughters. This experience has brought to light the growing doctor shortage in Australia and she is looking to be part of the solution.
“I want to come out the other end with my family intact,” Ross stated. “I want to be a great doctor. I want to be a GP for regional communities.” Her tenacity is a testament to the determination of this year’s medical students to make medicine more equitable and accessible even amidst their own trials and tribulations.
Melody Ahfock, a researcher from Deakin University, made a particularly salient point. She remarked that the existing design most advantages those students able to commit themselves to full-time study. “At the moment, we are only able to accommodate those individuals whose personal circumstances can enable them to study full-time,” she noted. This quote highlights the unyielding barriers so many students encounter, especially our students with caregiving responsibilities.
Advocacy for Flexible Learning
Ross’s advocacy for part-time study options resonates with many students who feel that their potential contributions to the healthcare system are hindered by rigid academic frameworks. “A lot of talented Australians out there — be it as a consequence of carer responsibilities, childcare responsibilities, or financial situation — can’t take advantage of full-time education offerings,” Ahfock added.
Medical schools are responding Stuart Carney, incoming president of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand, is taking these challenges head-on. He reiterated that Australian med schools are currently looking into more flexible options for study. He made the point that we need to support those mature-aged students, because many of them end up being general practitioners.
“We’ve established a working party which is reviewing the evidence and identifying what’s working well and what’s not working quite so well in other countries,” Carney stated. This important initiative is an indication of a growing realization among many educational leaders that substantial change is needed to better serve our increasingly diverse student populations.
The Impact on Future Healthcare Providers
Flexibility to study part-time presents important opportunities to students on an individual basis. Further, it can drive progress on bigger systemic issues in healthcare. Almost 90 percent of Deakin University’s Doctor of Medicine students say financial precarity affects their education and health. There are ways to give people more flexibility and ease some of these burdens.
“If Ross had the option to study on a part-time basis, she said she would have the confidence and capacity to manage both her studies and family responsibilities. If I was studying part-time, I could work a day or two a week, I could be the mum that I want to be,” she explained. “I’d come out at the end, and I wouldn’t be burnt out.” This view illustrates one of many ways that flexibility could allow schools to better prepare healthier graduates more ready to go back into their communities to serve.
Implementing part-time options comes with challenges. Karen D’Souza pointed out that allowing students to shift to part-time study might result in fewer graduates entering the workforce at any given time. “When students change to part-time studies, this means that the medical school will graduate fewer students in the graduating cohort and fall short of their agreed quota of graduates to take up positions as employed junior doctors,” she cautioned.
