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New systems required to provide better information on the quality of medical intern training

The AMA has warned against making any radical changes to the Australian model of medical intern training. Instead, the AMA believes the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council National Review of Medical Intern Training must propose new systems to provide better information on the quality of medical intern training, the transition from medical school to intern training, and in the remaining prevocational and vocational training years. To support this approach, the AMA has recommended a national survey of medical training, similar to the survey that the General Medical Council undertakes in the United Kingdom.

The AMA submission urges caution on any proposed major changes to internship training for medical graduates on the basis there is no evidence to show that the current model of internship in Australia is ‘broken’, or that radical changes to its structure are required. The COAG Review is considering a range of options to reform intern training, from incremental change to more radical proposals such as a two-year prevocational training program or transferring the intern year into the last year of medical school. The review shows there is a lack of data surrounding the quality and effectiveness of the intern year in preparing junior doctors for independent practice.

Read the AMA submission here 

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