Ministers' meeting a step in the right direction, but 1 in 4 doctors miss out on intern guarantee
The Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) welcomes the announcement from Friday's Health Ministers' meeting that Commonwealth-funded medical graduates from Australian universities will be guaranteed an intern place, however notes that some locally trained doctors are not covered by this guarantee.
President of AMSA Mr Ross Roberts-Thomson said this is a win for AMSA who has been calling for guaranteed internships for some time.
"However, guaranteeing internships for only Commonwealth-supported students means that the community may miss out on 1 in every 4 Australian-trained doctor.
"Australian medical students who are in full-fee paying places, those who attend private universities or those in state-funded places, as well as all international students, are not covered by this guarantee and may miss out on intern placements under this new arrangement. This equates to over 150 domestic students and over 500 international students per year," he said.
"AMSA acknowledges that the Federal Government has committed large amounts of money to addressing the current doctor shortage, and that they should be commended for doing so.
"Further, AMSA calls for urgent dialogue between the Universities and the State Governments to ensure there are adequate intern places for all medical graduates so that they can continue to train and serve the community," said Mr Roberts-Thomson.
