FRAGMENTED MEDICAL EDUCATION NEEDS 'TEETH'
Senior medical education authorities are calling for a major overhaul of the nation's post-graduate medical training, saying the current system is inefficient and unsustainable.
Their case is documented in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.
There are now 10 different agencies involved in postgraduate training, a situation the experts say is counterproductive to effective and cohesive national medical education.
The Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils (CPMEC) is currently looking to standardise national accreditation for doctors' training, but Deborah Paltridge, Director of St Vincent's Melbourne Medical Education Unit, says the new system needs to have funding 'teeth'.
"The 'teeth' need to come from government commitment at both state and federal levels," Ms Paltridge says.
"A national body responsible for medical education must be established to oversee the training continuum if the fragmented nature of medical education in this country is to be remedied."
The institutions and medical practitioners who train junior doctors are badly under-funded, according to Professor Geoffrey Dahlenburg, former Chairman of the Postgraduate Medical Council of SA.
He says most medical practitioners are willing to train junior colleagues but lack the time and money to do so, adding that administrative changes should be made to bring together the multiple parties involved in postgraduate doctor training.
"(Doctors appointed to positions in hospitals need) a willing commitment to teach, and teaching time should be appropriately funded - the days of pro-bono teaching are long gone," Prof Dahlenburg says.
CPMEC Chair, Professor Barry McGrath, adds: "The existing systems for delivery of education and training are inefficient, under-resourced and under pressure, and they will not be sustainable in the future."
Currently, new graduates start their careers as interns in approved training posts with senior clinicians responsible for their supervision - but there is no national curriculum to guide supervisors in their role.
Ms Paltridge says there is a need for clear learning outcomes and assessment processes, which are valid, reliable and defensible.
"A defined curriculum does not detract from the rich opportunistic learning that occurs in the workplace, but does ensure that a minimum standard is achieved," she says.
"It is indefensible to leave what is experienced and learned by prevocational doctors up to chance."
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.