BMA Medical Students Conference Report 2019
Author: Grace Allport
This year the BMA Medical Students Conference was hosted on the 12th and 13th of April, and an enormous number of progressive policies were passed. Organisation among Broad Left students helped us to win support for our position on several issues and ensured important motions were discussed.
Student Welfare and Finance
Conference committed to several new policies aimed at improving conditions for medical students, such as lobbying medical schools to reduce travel time to help ease time pressure, promoting communal spaces on regional placements, allocating time for physical activity and establishing mental health services for medical students. These motions are important to continuing the vital work the BMA does in supporting medical students and advocating for conditions which allow them to study medicine without compromising their mental and physical health.
A motion about performance enhancing drugs was opposed by the Broad Left. The motion called for BMA investigation into the use of illegal recreational and performance enhancing drugs, as well as the implementation of drug testing systems at medical schools. The proposal would have discriminated against students who took some drugs for medical reasons by forcing them to disclose their condition and treatments to the medical school and any agencies involved in the testing. We do not believe that the BMA should be advocating testing and punishing students in this way. After a short debate, the motion fell.
Conference also committed to lobby for maintenance loanaccess for students who chose to intercalate with a Master’s course rather thana Bachelors. This policy aims to increase the accessibility of intercalated Master’sdegrees, especially to students from less economically privileged backgrounds. KirushNaguleswaran, who spoke in favour of the policy, said, “Intercalation is avaluable part of a medical degree. Studying a Master’s degree equips you withadditional skills and knowledge that is not necessarily covered in a Bachelors.Lack of financial support denies deserving candidates the chance to studysubjects at a Master’s level.” She argued that the lack of financial accesswhilst a student lasted beyond university, highlighting the points awarded forMaster’s degrees at specialty application.
Education
The UKMLA remains highly controversial and the Broad Leftopposes its implementation in 2023. A proposal to recognise that it is too lateoppose the UKMLA’s introduction was so unpopular that the conference voted, byan overwhelming majority, to have it removed from the agenda. Instead, theconference agreed to maintain its position of opposition and engagement to the UKMLAand restated its support for the red lines proposed by the Medical StudentsCommittee.
Further policies were agreed by conference, includingopposing the use of UKMLA scores in the application process for foundationtraining, seeking to prevent additional burdens on finals students in 2022 whenthe assessment will be trialled and seeking assurances that students couldabstain from the trial without punishment. These are crucial to the role theBMA has of advocating for students and ensuring that their welfare is notcompromised.
Equality and Access to Medicine
Unanimously, conference voted to support policies to addressthe Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) attainment gap. The evidence thatthe gap is not due to ability, but systemic racism, has already been heard andaccepted by the BMA. Majd Albakry said, “Although this matter has beenaddressed previously, we need a more action-specific plan as outlined by motion52 that incites organisational and social change.” These measures included creationof an annual conference to tackle the issue, school-specific plans of action,and positive action to increase the number of BAME staff working in medicalschools. The Broad Left supports these actions as part of our fight to ensurethat all students receive fair education and assessment, and to end disadvantageon the grounds of race.
Conference also voted to establish liberation networkswithin the BMA. These networks aim to provide representation for members ofminority groups. Each branch of practice would elect officers who identify aswomen, LGBTQ+, BAME or as living with a disability, who would then meet todiscuss policy and representation. The motion was proposed by the Deputy Chairfor Welfare of Medical Students Committee (MSC), Stephen Naulls, who said, “Insituations where the BMA advocates for members with protected characteristics,I believe the voices of those members - and their lived experience - is pivotalto the discussions. I hope this just one step along the pathway to creating amore representative and member-led BMA.” While similar motions on liberationnetworks and officers have been proposed by Broad Left members in previousyears, its passage now represents a win for the left and a reflection of thechanging values of Medical Students Conference. The policy will now go to ARMto allow for the establishment of liberation officers across branches of practicebeyond MSC.
After a passionate speech by Alessia Waller, of SwanseaMedical School, conference supported lobbying the UK Foundation Programme toextend special circumstances applications to students who are pregnant or whosepartner is pregnant. Although a protected characteristic, the UKFPO currentlyexcludes pregnancy from special circumstances, which can cause a significantconflict in work-life balance of newly qualified doctors. “It negativelyimpacts students, mostly graduate students, and their ability to planfamilies,” Alessia said, “I know of two students in the year above me who’vebeen affected.”
Conference voted unanimously in favour of a motion tacklingsexism and sexual harassment within the BMA. This comes after sexist remarkswere made by a member of the BMA towards a GP speaking at a nationalconference. Ella Burchill, of Kings College London, proposed the motion, givingpersonal examples of the sexism she has faced as a woman in medicine. “This is an issue very close to my heart,” she said, “I hope in thefuture, we can all be proud to work in an NHS which values the work we do asdoctors and scientists, regardless of gender.”
Christine Cadman, a Bristol student, won strong support fora motion advocating Widening Participation in medicine measures for careleavers. “Care leavers face challenges that other students may not face, fromfinancial difficulties, the lack of support from home or educational unit, tonot having accommodation during summer holidays. This motion will ensure thatcare leavers will not only get the support and advice required to apply tomedicine, but also the chance to thrive whilst studying medicine by offeringinformation on summer time accommodation, bursaries and scholarships and summerschool programmes.”
BMA and Union Policy
The conference committed to lobbying the BMA internally toaffiliate with the Trade Unions council. Ciaran Kennedy, who proposed themotion, said, “I proposed the motion after seeing how the TUC lobbied for the2007 smoking ban. I believe that with solidarity from the BMA, the TUC canfurther improve the health of all workers.” Despite being an organisation setup to collectively bargain for doctors and improve the conditions theiremployment, the BMA resisted the trade union label until 1971. The BMA has, attimes, organised alongside the unions of the TUC, but it is not currently anaffiliated union.
Additionally, conference voted to support recruiting physicians associates (PAs) into the BMA. Broad Left students argued in favour, recognising that unions should represent those who are alike in need, not just in qualification. Working together, we can ensure we can successfully advocate for both groups and seek safe staffing. Brocha Goode of the University of Manchester, who proposed the motion, said, “We shouldn’t leave PAs to seek piecemeal representation; we should seek national recruitment, organisation and bargaining for PAs through the British Medical Association. What we need is to work together with PAs, organising to define their role, solve problems and strengthen our union.”
Healthcare and Society
Conference committed to lobbying to ensure training ofmedical students to provide healthcare for the homeless, as well as lobbyinghealth boards to ensure higher standards of care for homeless patients areintroduced. The policy aims to improve the care that this highly vulnerablegroup in society receives. David Clayton of Glasgow University, who proposedthe motion, said, “The BMA needs to be at the forefront of tackling the publichealth emergency of homeless deaths and healthcare exclusion and I’m glad tosee the BMA support the recommendations from the Faculty for Homeless andInclusion Health in our motion.”
Additionally, conference supported a motion which targetedhomelessness more directly, supporting recognition of homelessness as a crisismanufactured by the housing industry and lobbying for more social housing, aswell as taxes on the creation of luxury homes. These measures seek to end thecrisis caused by the housing market, which creates an artificial scarcity ofhousing in order to inflate the value of property investments at the cost ofthe health of the economically disadvantaged.
The conference voted to support free movement for all workers, inside and beyond the EU, extending well beyond previous policy which called for maintenance of free movement for healthcare workers after Brexit only. Giancarlo Bell, whilst advocating EU free movement, told conference that the EU border was responsible for the deaths of thousands in the Mediterranean, and we should respond by making a different political choice. The policy is a significant commitment to an internationalist principle of free movement and a humanitarian response to the crises across the world. Its passage at conference reflects the increasing support the ideas of the left are gaining.
All quotations were received after the conference and represent the opinions of the individuals quoted. Not all quotes are from Broad Left members.