AMA welcomes review of assessment processes for international medical graduates

The Board has announced it will work with the Australian Medical Council to determine the terms of a review of the assessment pathways for IMGs, which came into effect on 1 July 2008.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA had raised concerns with the Board about the assessment pathways in August and again last week.

“Our members have been telling us for some time that they were aware of unnecessary delays in the assessment of IMGs seeking to commence or continue working in Australia, including in areas of need,” Dr Pesce said.

“We have discovered that most of the concerns relate to the registration and renewal requirements for IMGs who have limited registration to work in areas of need and who are then facing long assessment delays.

“In addition, it would seem that the Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview assessment is being heavily relied on to reassess IMGs who are required to renew their registration instead of more thorough performance assessments with appropriate opportunities for reskilling and mentoring.

“The AMA continues to fully support a robust assessment process to ensure that only competent and qualified doctors can work in Australia.

“However, we believe the review is needed to ensure that we have fair and appropriate assessment arrangements that don’t prejudice these doctors or the communities they work in or seek to work in,” Dr Pesce said.

9 November 2010

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