“Unlike any other degree, the number of medical school places in Australia is absolutely managed down to the individual number by the federal government. Universities can’t decide to offer a few more places. We’re under complete straightjacket.”
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Helen Craig, chief executive of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand, the peak body for medical schools, said investing in the pipeline of graduate doctors needed to start now, as it took 10 to 15 years to fully train a doctor.
“We literally bring in as many doctors as we train ourselves – it is just not the right balance. We’ve got a lot of very capable applicants to medical schools that we turn away,” she said.
“The cost of recruiting, the cost of locums because we don’t have this workforce, and the cost to patient care is immense.”
Neither major party is offering substantial policy or funding commitments to the broader university sector ahead of the May 21 election. The Coalition, in the most recent federal budget, committed to increase by 80 the number of medical Commonwealth Supported Places available at rural campuses.
Labor has pledged to fund up to 20,000 extra university places over 2022 and 2023 if elected, but it is unclear how many, if any, will be medical places. Instead, Labor has said they will be used to fix areas of skills shortage such as engineering, nursing, tech, and teaching, with priority given to universities offering more opportunities for under-represented groups in regional and remote areas.
Professor Karen Price, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said GP shortages were an ongoing issue across the country, which had been exacerbated by the pandemic and restrictions on travel and flow of international medical graduates into Australia.
“We need to do more to fix it than just increasing medical student numbers, and expecting that it will automatically meet general practice workforce needs. We need to ensure there is a clear and rewarding pathway for junior doctors to pursue a career in general practice, including in rural, remote, and other areas of need,” she said.
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1000 extra student doctors needed every year to avert workforce crisis: universities
Source: Philippines Alive
