THE Health Services Union (HSU) is renewing its call for the Federal Government to extend paid placements to allied health professionals as a Senate committee on the issue scrutinises the University Accord Bill.
HSU also revealed a first hand account of hardship for a pharmacy student, Samuel, who said, "earlier this year I was assigned a four-week placement at a hospital in Sydney, four hours away".
"Unfortunately, I was told that accommodation is only available for rural placement.
"I had to stay at a hostel for the four weeks, which cost me just shy of $2,000," he said.
"The interest rates increased while my wife was on maternity leave, and our mortgage went up to 55% of our combined income.
"I exhausted all our savings - four months later, we have not been able to replace any savings or catch up on our bills.
"The only reprieve is I will soon graduate," said Samuel.
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