If you are considering spending some time working in medicine abroad it is worth exploring the health systems in some detail. Here is an introduction to working in Australia.
Why Australia?
The Australian health care system is considered to be one of the best in the world. A good balance exists between the public healthcare (Medicare) and private healthcare systems. Opportunities exist to practice a wide range of medicine from posts in advanced teaching hospitals in the cities to Third World medicine in the Aboriginal communities.
With a current shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas, Australia offers a diversity of settings to suit most lifestyle choices.
The Medical Training System in Australia
The medical training system in Australia is not dissimilar to what we are used to in the UK. Australian doctors study for a primary medical degree before undertaking a 12 month internship in an approved accredited training post. Specialist medical training involves prevocational training in broad clinical experience during both the internship and second postgraduate years. This is followed by vocational training of 3 – 7 years in a chosen specialty.
International Graduates Practising Medicine
Very few overseas doctors have completed their specialty training in the UK when they consider a period of work in Australia. It is therefore common for an overseas doctor to first work under a temporary visa with conditional medical registration before completing the requirements for full registration or specialist recognition.
Full details of the registration procedures for overseas medical graduates can be found on the website of the Australian Medical Council at www.amc.org.au.
DoctorConnect, a government initiative developed by the Department for Health and Aging for doctors trained outside Australia, can also provide useful information
Postgraduate Training positions
Postgraduate/occupational trainee positions are often chosen by overseas doctors looking to enhance their clinical skills before returning home. A special occupational trainee visa is required.
The competition for training places in fierce so it is advisable to do your research early.
Competent Authority Pathway
The Competent Authority Pathway was introduced by the Australian Medical Council in July 2006 to assess international medical graduates applying to non-specialist positions. Successful applicants are eligible to apply for advanced standing towards the AMC certificate and are therefore not required to sit the clinical examinations. Instead, the pathway involves a workplace based assessment while working under supervision.
Assessment of eligibility for the Competent Authority Pathway can take up to four weeks so forward planning is recommended.
To be eligible, you must:
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be a graduate of a medical course in the UK accredited by the GMC
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have successfully completed FY1 or 12 months supervised training approved by the GMC in the UK
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hold full registration issued by the General Medical Council
Apply online to determine your eligibility at www.amc.org.au
Finding a job
Not all vacancies may be filled by overseas doctors; it is most common for those available to be in areas of need or shortage. These may well be posts that Australian doctors do not want to take.
A good starting point can be the medical recruitment agencies as they often do all of the organising for you. Make sure the agency you are using is recognised by the Australian Association of Medical Recruitment Agencies (AAMRA). www.rcsa.com/au/aamra
It is also possible to apply directly to a hospital, especially if you are looking at a smaller hospital in more rural areas. If the hospital considers you to be eligible for the post they will sponsor you for immigration purposes. Successful applications result in conditional medical registration which is location and job specific, you cannot change job without reapplying for conditional registration.
A useful jobs page can be found at www.doctorvacancy.com.au.
The North Western Postgraduate Medical Deanery also has contacts in Australia which you may find useful. See their website www.nwpgmd.nhs.uk.
Funding
A good website for research and travel grants is www.rdinfo.org.uk. You will also find the Directory of Grant Making Trusts and the Educational Grants Directory available for reference in the Careers Service library.
Filed under: Working overseas | Tagged: medical training in australia, postgradaute study, working and studying in australia
Hi, thanks for the information about the pathways into Australian medical practice, I wasn’t aware of the CAP until I read this blog!
However, I was wondering if you have any information or resources on academic medical training in Aus. I’ve done a few searches and it doesn’t seem to be as well established out there as here in the UK. Of course Australia doesn’t really have a formally centralised training scheme so I suppose there must be informal ways to do such training. Any thoughts?
J
“Australia doesn’t really have a formally centralised training scheme”
I mean this to be a relative statement in that of course the colleges have criteria and what not but more to the point, there is no equivalent to MTAS from what I can tell.
Hi Jarrod.
It is true that there is little information on the web about academic training programmes in Australia. The UK system is itself relatively new and has been developed in response to an international recognition for the need to increase the awareness of academic career pathways amongst junior doctors.
Australian representatives have also been involved in the project to increase participation in academic medicine (although I have been able to find anything as official as the UK MMC pathway).
Although a few years old now, the following article does contain the details of some Australian professors who have been involved in the project:
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/181_11_061204/wil10557_fm.html