October 15, 2012
Maori under-represented among medical students
Otago University is sounding a warning the intake of Maori and Pacific students to its second year medical courses is too low.
Peter Crampton, the Dean of Health Sciences, says the lack of ethnic diversity among our future health professionals means the future workforce will not reflect society, leading to lower health outcomes.
Across all eight Otago University health professional courses, just 6 percent of students are Maori.
The New Zealand Medical Student's Association says recent changes to the student loans scheme will make it even harder for students from poorer backgrounds to finish their training.