Medical student 'angry' at having to move 300 miles to work in Northern Ireland due to new random job allocator
| Published date | 10 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
Now these doctors are being allocated to the training programme through a new system called the Preference Informed Allocation PIA system, which gives all applicants a computer-generated rank that is completely randomised. The change was introduced after critics felt the old system ‘drove disruptive competitive behaviour in medical students’, with the planned new system being ‘fairer and reducing stress’ for applicants.
Still medical students can’t help feeling that they have still been betrayed, and patients are unsure where it leaves them. One anonymous London medical student, who has consistently excelled during medical school, told MyLondon they had to move 300 miles away to Northern Ireland, their 15th choice.
He said: “I was extremely disappointed, I worked very hard knowing that this would give me the best chance at [staying in London] with my long-term partner, and now instead a randomised algorithm has determined we do long-distance for years. I am angry at the lack of control I have been given over my own future.”
While figures released show 75 per cent of medical students got their first preference, fewer received their second or below options; for instance 2.6 per cent fewer medical students were allocated their top five choice this year. Others feel this system has promoted mediocrity, with no rewards for excelling in their clinical studies at medical school.
One medical student commented: “I’ve been crying for hours -I have a first class BSc, finished top decile in my medical school and I am currently doing a masters in Law. All for what What was the point of anything”
However the debate has not yet reached the public sphere, who largely remain unaware of the changes. Most importantly for Londoners, the system raises questions for its implications on the capital, which has historically been the most competitive area in the UK for newly-qualified doctors.
'Students are more likely to put places other than London as...
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