Report release: Do the placement guidelines need to be re-plastered?

Uppsala Student Union today released a report on the clinical placement guidelines at the Faculty of Medicine. The purpose of the report is to present the guidelines and reimbursement models used by different programs at the Faculty of Medicine at Uppsala University in the management of costs that may arise for students in connection with their clinical training. This refers, for example, to travel costs and costs for accommodation when students have a clinical placement in a location other than Uppsala. Uppsala Student Union hopes that the report will contribute to a continued discussion on the conditions for equal and inclusive higher education in Sweden. Such a discussion is an important step in the work to ensure that anyone with the right qualifications has the opportunity to study, regardless of socio-economic background.

The results of the report show that the guidelines used at the Faculty of Medicine at Uppsala University differ between programs, leading to different levels of reimbursement of students' costs. Uppsala University has university-wide guidelines regarding additional costs for compulsory study trips and compulsory unpaid internships. However, these only stipulate that at least 75% of students' costs need to be reimbursed. As a result of the guidelines only stipulating a minimum level, some programs at the Faculty of Medicine only reimburse the minimum possible part of students' costs, while others provide full reimbursement. This creates an unequal situation where some students are expected to pay extra costs to be able to train. The increased financial burden on students risks putting them in a very stressful situation that may lead to increased stress and anxiety, and consequently to more drop-outs and lower completion rates.

What does Uppsala Student Union want?

Uppsala Student Union believes that students should be fully compensated for travel and other accommodation costs incurred when the clinical placement exceeds the distance of 6.5 km from the University. In addition to this, costs for the individual student related to the internship or placement should be avoided as much as possible. This should be the same for all programs at the University. Uppsala Student Union believes that students should not have to pay extra costs in order to benefit from their education.

Uppsala Student Union would therefore like to...

... that students should be reimbursed 100% of the costs incurred in connection with clinical placements.

... that Uppsala University develops university-wide guidelines that stipulate that 100 percent of students' additional costs should be reimbursed for compulsory study trips and compulsory unpaid internships.

... that additional funding is provided to higher education institutions to meet the increased costs of clinical placements.

The full report is available here.

If you have any questions about the Uppsala Student Union's work with clinical placements or information about the content of the report, please contact the author of the report, Martin Edström.

martin.edstrom@uskar.se