Four out of ten students who enroll in medicine are from outside Catalonia

BarcelonaOne of the main reasons why in recent years there has been an attempt to make university entrance exams the same – or as similar as possible – is that in the State the universities operate with the so-called "single district". The regulations allow a student to access any university in the country, regardless of the autonomous community to which the institution belongs and the place where the applicant completed high school and university entrance exams. The single district also opens the door to greater competition in certain territories that offer degrees that in other parts of the State have fewer places or that have better-rated universities. The clearest example of this dilemma in Catalonia can be seen in the degree of medicine.

According to data collected by Unportal, this year four out of ten students who have enrolled to study first year medicine in Catalan public universities were from outside Catalonia. Specifically, of the 1,207 students who have enrolled, 457 (38%) come from other autonomous communities. Although it may seem a one-off situation, the same analysis ofUnportal The figure shows how this year this number has been reduced a little. In fact, the figure is 10% lower than last year, when there were 503 medical students enrolled who were from other parts of the State.

The proportion of students from outside Catalonia in the first year of medicine, however, varies greatly depending on the university. The ones with the highest proportion are the University of Lleida (70%) and the University of Rovira i Virgili (67%); while the UAB –the university that offers the most places– has 39% and the one with the lowest proportion is the UB, with 16% of students between the degree offered at the Bellvitge campus and the one at the Clínic.

From quality to assessment differences

"This situation has a positive side, which means that the medical schools in Catalonia are highly prestigious, with a level of teaching quality and hospital facilities where students can do their internships that is superior to other places," explains Josep Ferrer, president of the Asociación Colectivo Laude, which brings together a large number of former rectors of Catalan universities. The prestige of the studies is one of the reasons why Catalonia is a magnet for these degrees, which is also shared by the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the UB, Antoni Trilla, and the vice-rector for studies and quality at the UAB, Ramon Vilanova.

However, both Trilla and Vilanova insist that the students who initially enroll are one thing, and those who end up staying to do the entire degree and the MIR are another. "In medicine there are very changing flows, because there are communities that have very few places. This means that many students enroll here and then end up giving up and returning to their community, but there are also many who stay," admits Vilanova. "It's like the game of musical chairs, where the music plays and every time there is a place in one place or another," exemplifies Trilla.

Beyond these two factors, the three professionals put another possible reason on the table: the differences in the cut-off marks between communities. "We are in a single district system, but with a different selectivity test. It should be assessed whether the marks obtained in other autonomous communities are effectively comparable to those here," insists Ferrer. In this sense, the latest statistics offered by the Integrated University Information System (SIIU) for the year 2023 show that in Catalonia only 6.8% of those who enter university have an excellent grade for access to the degree - the sum of the high school grade and the selectivity grade. On the other hand, in communities such as Asturias, Extremadura or Murcia this percentage rises above 15%.

Who pays for it?

Apart from the reasons, Ferrer, Trilla and Vilanova also point out a grievance. "Catalonia, from a scientific point of view, is a world leader. Therefore, it is very natural that the hospitals, the scientific level of the teaching staff and the doctors that we have are a reason for satisfaction and attraction. But that also deserves financial compensation," claims Ferrer, who points out that what students pay at the university is only a small part of the cost of the degree. "The Generalitat is using this extra funding to cover the studies of students from other communities who should compensate us for this contribution," insists the former rector.

"It is true that we form a good part of the students, who perhaps after finishing will return to Valencia or Aragon, but we do not distinguish between students," defends Trilla. The degà of the Faculty of Medicine of the UB reiterates that one of the problems is that "there are certain communities in the name of places of medicine that offer massa petit", but he also warned that there are other factors that after forming in Catalonia a metge can Marxar: "One of the main limitations for staying here in the absence of metge is "the housing tax, as well as the salary of a resident or a recent graduate, may be a difficulty."

However, none of the three experts see that a direct increase in places to study medicine is a solution. "The only way to reverse this would be to work without this single district. If you open 100 new places now, you will still have everything full, because there are many applicants who want to train in medicine," acknowledges Vilanova. And Trilla adds: "The system of access to medicine that we have is imperfect, but it is the best we have. At least it is the most objective, and the most practical so far."