Australian Medical Association

The theme for the 2012 AMACDT Trainee Forum is ‘Training pathways for the future’ and will be held in Sydney on 3 March 2012.

The agenda includes expanding vocational training capacity, teaching and research opportunities for trainees, and global health training.

Details are as follows:

Date: Saturday 3 March 2012, 0900-1700

Location: AMA NSW House, 69 Christie St, St Leonards, NSW, 2065

RSVP: to nbrowne@ama.com.au by Monday 20 February 2012

Did you know that the RACGP Vocational Training Standards are changing? The new draft standards involve significant change and a move to an outcomes based approach. Supervisors and doctors-in-training have expressed concern about some elements of the draft standards. Find out what the changes to the Vocational Training Standards could mean for you by reading our submission.

This submission responds to the HWA draft background paper - Rural and Remote Health Workforce Innovation and Reform Strategy released in July 2011 as part of the consultation process.

The AMA believes it is important that the Government gets it right to ensure that the health workforce in rural and remote areas is sustainable and that people in rural communities can access affordable, appropriate health care services when needed.

This statement outlines the AMA’s position on the scope and structure of prevocational medical education, which encompasses the period between graduation and the commencement of vocational training. In the case of most trainees, it includes postgraduate year 1 (PGY1), also known as internship, and postgraduate year 2 (PGY2). Doctors at this stage of their training are collectively referred to as junior medical officers (JMOs). The statement provides a position on contemporary as well as emerging issues related to prevocational medical education and training, taking into account concerns raised by junior doctors regarding quality, streaming, competencies and vocational pathways.

AMA FAMILY DOCTOR WEEK 2011: AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that greater Government support is needed for GP supervisors to train the record number of medical students and junior doctors that are training in general practice.

Dr Hambleton said the recent increases in general practice training places have meant that more medical students and junior doctors are being trained in general practice than ever before.

“The AMA has welcomed the investment by the Government into increasing general practice training places, but this investment must be backed by greater support for those GPs who are training the record numbers of medical students in general practice,” Dr Hambleton said.

The AMA has made an additional submission to the Department of Health and Ageing to raise concerns identified by AMA member junior doctors. This submission:

• emphasises the need to ensure that time-based targets do not impact on the ability of public hospitals to provide quality clinical education and training;
• calls for ongoing resources to support the ability of emergency departments, the hospital and community providers to fulfil education and training obligations; and
• recommends that the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of targets also includes the impact on education, training and junior doctor experiences.

This submission supplements the submission lodged by the AMA on 25 May 2011.

The AMA recently made a submission to Health Workforce Australia commenting on its National Clinical Supervision Support Framework - Consultation Draft. While generally supportive of the principles that underlie the Framework, the submission highlighted a number of core issues specific to medical supervision and training that should be addressed.

Pathology services in Australia are amongst the highest quality and the most accessible in the world. However, Government funding cuts to pathology services have had an impact on the quality, accessibility, affordability and safety of pathology services. Government funding changes can also have a significant impact on the sustainability of the pathology sector including the ability to support ongoing training, research and development.

MJA media - Pilot flexible training positions should be introduced to help junior doctors balance work and family commitments, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

More women than men are graduating as doctors, and more doctors are raising children in their training years, but permanent flexible training positions across the medical subspecialties are lacking, says Dr Suzanne Mahady, an advanced trainee at Westmead Hospital, Sydney.

Within the health care team, each professional brings a particular combination of training and experience which defines their role and responsibilities. This AMA Positition Statement outlines the core knowledge, skills and unique qualities of medical practice that make medical practitioners a pivotal part of Australia’s health system.  In this position statement the term ‘doctor’, which is the term in common community use, refers to a medical practitioner and the terms are used interchangeably.