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Medical interns start nationwide social media protest

Willem van Ewijk,
27 oktober 2016 - 14:06

Should medical interns receive an internship allowance to compensate for the abolition of basic student grants? To convince the minister of higher education of their financial needs, medical students will today embark on a nationwide social media campaign.

Christiaan Ponsen, who graduated from UvA’s medical school two weeks ago, expects  minister for higher education Jet Bussemaker to concede sooner or later. ‘In January 2015 she told senators in the Dutch Higher House that she would reconsider the position of medical interns as soon as the so-called basic student grants was abolished,’ Ponsen recalls.

 

The Dutch House of Commons debated the issue on Tuesday with some parties, including the  greens and social liberals, supporting the call for financial compensation.

 

For decades students have received about 300 euros worth of grant money a month under the government funded ‘basisbeurs’. This system, however, has since been abolished and replaced by student loans. The idea is that students can compensate for their loss of extra income by having a part time job.

 

For medical interns however, this is impossible Ponsen explains, because they already work 46 hours a week on internships. Other students in the medical sector, like nurses and physiotherapists do get an internship allowance. In accordance with the collective labour agreement of the federation of the Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres, they receive about 300 euros per month.

‘One could, for example, tweet something like: “It’s half past five, I have to get out of bed”’

Petition

Last year 22.000 students signed a petition demanding that the minister pay financial compensation to medical interns. The minister refused. In a letter to Ponsen she wrote that payment for interns was a responsibility of the hospitals and not the government. 

 

Bussemaker also stated that medical students have good career perspectives. ‘Medical studies are financially rewarding.’ The extra costs caused by the increased amount of loans will be earned back ‘abundantly,’ the minister wrote.

 

#coassistent

To increase pressure on the minister, students have called for nationwide social media actions this Thursday – exactly one year after the minister received the petition. By posting messages under the hashtag #coassistent (Dutch for medical intern) on Facebook and Twitter, students, nurses and doctors are asked to give insight into the lives of medical interns. The idea is to emphasise how busy the life of a medical intern is. ‘One could, for example, tweet something like: “It’s half past five, I have to get out of bed,”’ Ponsen says.

 

At 13.00 today medical interns in hospitals all over the country will make a stand by chewing on a small piece of wood. This refers to the Dutch proverb ‘Op een houtje bijten,’ meaning someone is very poor. The chewing of the wood will also be broadcasted on social media.

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