Equal Opportunity in the Medical Workforce - 2012
<p>This document provides guidance for medical workplaces and medical practitioners alike in relation to establishing and maintaining appropriate principles of equal opportunity in the engagement of medical practitioners.</p>
- The Australian Medical Association believes that all members of the medical profession are entitled to equal consideration within medical workplaces.
- Employers should at all times have regard to the relevant legislation in their State or Territory, or Commonwealth jurisdiction.1
- The Australian Medical Association expects medical workplaces to work to achieve fair practices and behaviour, including:
- recruitment, selection and promotion practices which are open, competitive and based on merit;
- access for all suitably qualified employees to training and development, and career advancement opportunities;
- flexible working arrangements that meet the reasonable needs of employees;
- appropriate grievance handling procedures;
- management decisions being made without bias;
- no unlawful discrimination or harassment;
- respect for the social and cultural backgrounds of all practitioners including International Medical Graduates.
- Issues of equal consideration apply at the time of entry into the medical profession, during career and in the transition to retirement from the profession.
- Overall merit should be the overriding consideration of any application for appointment or employment.
- Medical practitioners with equivalent qualifications and training, in the same location and with the same experience, should receive equal opportunities for career development and advancement.
- Medical workplaces should develop policies which encourage medical practitioners to have appropriate work-life balance.
- Medical workplaces should develop policies that minimise the need to relocate and should facilitate relationship support.
- Policies and procedures for continuity of patient care must consider and provide for medical staff to have adequate time away from the workplace.
- Policies and procedures in medical workplaces should recognise that an important aspect of continuity of care is having adequate time for proper medical handover arrangements.
- Medical workplaces employing or appointing medical practitioners should develop rosters that make allowance for flexible working and training arrangements.2
- The AMA acknowledges the importance of mentoring as a means of facilitating career development.
- Medical workplaces should develop and make available retraining and other relevant programs to facilitate the re-entry into the medical workforce of medical practitioners whose careers have been interrupted.
- Medical workplaces should develop workforce planning policies to provide for medical staff as they approach full retirement or who transition to retirement; such planning ensures that retirements do not adversely impact on the workloads of other doctors.
- Ideally, the retirement of medical staff should be planned so that their knowledge is passed on to newly appointed or remaining staff.
- The transition to retirement of medical staff should facilitate medical practitioners’ withdrawal from parts of practice which they no longer wish to undertake.