Medical schools damaged by funding method, BMA News, UK

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 20 May 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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Medical schools' ability to deliver training and research across all specialties has been put under threat by the controversial way in which the government funds higher education, doctors have warned.

They say the research assessment exercise, which largely determines university research funding, has caused departments to close or merge, skewed research towards short-term projects, and, at a time of record student numbers, has led to clinical academic doctors being threatened with redundancy.

Anita Holdcroft, an academic in London, says: 'Medical students are experiencing the result of compromises in integrating research, teaching and clinical practice. For postgraduate students, high-quality transnational research has been jeopardised and collaborative work within departments discouraged.'

Full text of story is available from the Press Office

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