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Preface | Medical School Guide | Pathways to Practicing Medicine | Clinical Career Paths | Career Path Options

Preface

"So, what do you want to do when you graduate?"

It's probably the first question most medstudents are asked by well-meaning friends and relatives, after divulging that they're studying medicine. By now you've probably worked out your own standard response to the question, such as "I'm really interested in paediatrics", "I'd like to go into research" or "I can see myself being a GP." These answers are often based upon positive experiences we've had during our course, doctors who have had a particular influence on us, or suggestions that we've picked up from other role models or the media. Whatever your answer is, chances are that there is a vast array of other options out there that you haven't even considered.

That is where The Other Side comes in. We hope to stimulate you to explore a wide range of ideas about your future career - both within and outside of traditional areas of medical practice. As you will see, medical graduates can follow a myriad of career pathways. Within the more 'traditional' areas of medicine, doctors are able to pursue interests ranging from clinical practice to research and public health. Outside of the 'specialties', the options for medical graduates are broader still.

In many ways, medicine is the ultimate 'generalist' degree. Employers often view the degree as a considerable asset, both within and outside of jobs in health care. If you are one of the significant proportion of medical graduates that will eventually follow a non-medical career path, we encourage you to consider your options early on in your career. As the profiles demonstrate, there are as many different career paths available as there are doctors who will follow them.

But having a satisfying professional life is about much more than finding an enjoyable job. It is also important to consider the how one's career fits into the broader context of one's lifestyle. The profiles in The Other Side illustrate how some doctors have balanced their work with a family travel and other personal interests.

We hope that you enjoy discovering more about the wide range of careers profiled in The Other Side. While a large number of career paths are described herein, we have not attempted to be comprehensive in our coverage. Rather, we hope to provide a wide range of ideas that may stimulate further thought and investigation.

Finally, many thanks must go to each of the contributors to this publication, who kindly agreed to write the articles found herein. We hope that their contributions will be valuable as you embark upon your career as a doctor. We wish you all the best as you complete your medical studies, and find out what lies ahead for you on the other side./p>

Greg Fox
Amy Hayden
Archana Rao

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Medical School Guide

AMSA produces a Medical School Guide to help prospective students choose a medical school which suits them. Download it here

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Pathways to Practicing Medicine

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Clinical Career Paths

While medicine is a profession that provides a very structured career pathway, there are a lot of variations across specialties, and many opportunities to diverge from the set pathways that are presented in the adjacent diagram.

All Australian medical graduates must satisfactorily complete one year as an intern in order to be registered as a medical practitioner. Following this, graduates must complete a period of postgraduate training before they can enter private practice. The majority of graduates undertake general practice, surgery, or physician training, with smaller numbers moving into the other specialties. Postgraduate training is undertaken through the various specialist Colleges, and results in trainees being awarded the "Fellowship" of that particular College.

In general terms, most training programs require a certain period of general hospital training (Basic Training) following the intern year. For some, this may involve posts specific to the specialty (for example, basic surgical training predominantly requires trainees to undertake general surgical posts). Others accept broader hospital experience, however all training programs generally have specific requirements for this period of training (particular terms, accredited hospitals etc.).

At the end of this period, trainees generally sit an exam (written and/or clinical) which they must pass before they can enter Advanced Training. This next period of training lasts a number of years. At the end of Advanced Training, some specialties automatically admit trainees as Fellows of their College (for example, Physician Training, Paediatrics). However, most require candidates to sit exit examinations.

Having gained postgraduate qualifications, doctors then have a number of options in terms of practice. These vary according to the specialty, but include entering private practice, practising as a Visiting Medical Officer or Staff Specialist, or undertaking further training and specialisation.

The actual details of the training programs, such as duration of training, entry requirements, type of training, and assessment, vary greatly from specialty to specialty. To obtain more details:

Contact the Colleges directly
Speak to trainees/qualified doctors who work within the specialty you are interested in.

The Other Side - Perspectives on Careers in Medicine
was edited and published by
Archana Rao, Amy Hayden and Greg Fox,
for The Australian Medical Students Association Limited
ACN 079 544 513. Copyright 2000.

The Other Side (999kb)