Bondage just isn’t right says AMACDT Chair

The AMA Council of Doctors in Training (AMACDT) is continuing to lobby government to adjust the Bonded Medical Places (BMP) scheme and the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship (MRBS) for the good of its participants and the Australian public that it purports to serve. In his article in Australian Medicine, Dr John Zorbas, Chair, AMACDT, questions the capacity of existing contracts to meet the needs of bonded doctors in the current work and training environment.

“The first major flaw in this plan is that bonding just doesn’t work. Funnily enough, if you force someone to do something on your terms in an uncertain and inflexible manner, it turns out that people don’t appreciate the experience and they don’t come back. When bonding in medical school was first conjured up, the AMA provided evidence that similar schemes overseas, especially in North America, had failed to provide any form of sustainable medical workforce. More than 13 years have now passed and an exceedingly small number of scheme participants have completed their return of service. In fact, more participants have withdrawn or breached their agreement than those who have completed their return of service.”