Long waiting times for medical internships also affect other cities

In Rotterdam, some medical students have to wait more than a year before they can begin their medical internships. How does the situation compare with other universities? Waiting times vary considerably across the Netherlands.

Some medical students in Rotterdam are reportedly offering 2,000 euros to swap places with fellow students who have drawn a more favourable start date for their clinical placements, Dutch news outlet NU.nl reported this week. Some aspiring doctors may not be able to begin their placements until 2028.

Medical internships, known as coschappen in Dutch, are a key part of medical training. During the three-year master’s programme, students complete placements in a range of medical specialities, from neurology to general practice.

However, some medical schools don’t have enough internship positions available. As a result, students may have to wait before they can begin. In Rotterdam, these waiting times have increased significantly.

EM also found dozens of requests to swap placement positions in student group chats this week. One student wrote: “FOR SALE, name your price!”

Waiting times elsewhere

The situation varies considerably between universities. Maastricht University has no waiting time for clinical placements, according to a university spokesperson. Students there can complete their medical degree within six years. In Groningen, the average waiting time is five months.

Leiden University did not provide a specific figure, but according to a spokesperson, no student has to wait until 2028. Utrecht University also does not report a fixed waiting time, although it says that around one-third of students experience a ‘longer transition period’ between their bachelor’s and master’s programmes. According to the university, this is related to a recent curriculum revision.

The remaining three medical schools did not respond to requests for comment. However, the University of Amsterdam states online that some students may also have to wait until 2028 before starting their clinical placements. In the meantime, they can take elective courses or complete a research placement, although some students may have to wait a year for those opportunities as well.

A longstanding problem

The issue is not new. In 2021, Erasmus Magazine alreadyreported on long waiting times in Rotterdam. At the time, students sometimes had to wait as long as a year and a half, and some were again offering 2,000 euros to secure an earlier placement.

The Dutch medical students’ advocacy organisation De Geneeskundestudent is also aware of the problem. The organisation does not have a complete overview of waiting times nationwide, but says that students at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam may already have to wait until 2028. In Nijmegen, some places in the next allocation round will also reportedly not be available until 2028.

The Covid pandemic pushed waiting times up to around ten months. In 2023, De Geneeskundestudent conducted a survey to track developments in waiting times. At that point, the University of Amsterdam had a waiting time of more than 14 months, while Erasmus University Rotterdam reported a waiting time of less than four months. The figures can therefore fluctuate considerably from year to year.

“We understand students’ desperation”, De Geneeskundestudent said in a statement, “but clinical placements should not become an auction.” The organisation considers the current waiting times ‘unacceptable’ and says medical schools need to change the system.