Dr Colin Smith: Dealing with an unhelpful government
From his last address as chairman of the BMA's medical academic staff committee
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Our need for a flexible national contract has been recognised by Universities UK and the Council of Heads of Medical Schools. We have been given a commitment that the money to fund it will be available, and we now have the opportunity to get a contract that addresses the staffing crisis currently threatening medical education and research.
However, these efforts have not been helped by the Government's draconian approach. Despite recent suggestions of a softly-softly approach, they have reverted to unhelpful hammer-style tactics - issuing documents and statements without consultation. It is difficult not to respond aggressively to such bullying tactics, but by working directly with the bodies that represent our employers we can move forward.
The other challenge facing academic medicine is funding. Without a proper increase in resources, medical schools will continue to suffer, and the proposed reforms to research funding mean that unless you are deemed a star performer you will not get the money you need. This will force many academics to choose between teaching and research early on, seriously threatening the vital link between the two.
The Government's white paper on higher education has also presented challenges for medical academics. While we welcome the fact that teaching excellence is to be rewarded, tuition fees could make medicine extraordinarily expensive, and deter groups already under-represented in the profession. Recent estimates that they could face debts of up to £100,000 will hardly widen access.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments