COVID-19 Medical Student Public Hospital Engagement Contract Offer Checklist

- How you should receive the offer

- The type of work you should be doing

- What it should actually say on the contract

If you are unsure whether your contract is up to these standards, you can contact your local AMA team for advice.

See the checklist here

The Medical Deans Australia New Zealand also recently released a statement on Clinical workforce roles – offers from health services. The AMA has advised MDANZ that it will advocate and support a role for medical deans/schools as per below:

• Due to the disruption to training as a result of COVID –19, variations are likely to medical student graduation pathways.
• Medical students may be offered employment in a public hospital/local health district (LHD) to fill workforce gaps; particularly in response to an anticipated in-patient surge. In these paid jobs, medical students will be recognised as employees, not as medical students. 
• All job offers should be consistent with the AMA / AMSA contract offer check list.
• While not all jobs offered will necessarily be linked to formal medical education and training outcomes, medical school deans are well placed to advocate for the design of job offers that have the potential to simultaneously contribute to separate medical school learning objectives.
• Medical schools have an important role to play to establish a pool of job candidates, be a conduit for advertised jobs, and to advise medical students about the appropriateness of a job before they decide whether or not to accept (including usefulness in achieving learning objectives and personal fit).
• It is also important that medical schools provide pastoral care throughout, whether the individual is an employee (with a contract with a hospital/LHD) or is a medical student under their faculty.

Note that the AMA /AMSA employment checklist is not intended to preclude the role and involvement of medical schools in supporting their medical school community or the relationship it has with medical students.

State and Territory AMA will discuss this in its advocacy with health departments as employment offers are made to medical students.