NZMA welcomes loan caps extension announcement

The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) welcomes Monday’s announcement by the Government to extend the student loan borrowing cap for medical students, and for those doing longer degrees.

“We supported the New Zealand Medical Students Association previous campaign to raise the limit from 7 to 8 years’ full-time study and were aware at that time that such a limit would still adversely affect a number of students,” says Dr Kate Baddock, Chair of the New Zealand Medical Association.

“Extending the cap means that we also widen the pool of people undertaking medical training and enables those with prior education or training in other fields to invest that time in medicine and health professions. This means that we retain and attract those with experience and knowledge (beyond the confines of medicine) and that will significantly benefit our patients and the health of all New Zealanders.”