Submission

AMA response to Medical Intern Review Options Paper

The AMA response to the Medical Intern Review Options paper supports incremental, evidence-based change to the current model of internship focusing on improving supervision, assessment processes and expanding prevocational experience in non-traditional settings such as the community and private settings. It has been informed by the views of its AMA doctor in training members who have expressed unanimous support for the current model of internship.

The AMA response is in line with Option A in the Review paper. The AMA does not believe there is enough evidence to show that the current model of internship in Australia is ‘broken’ or to support radical changes to the structure of the internship along the lines suggested in Options C and D.

The Review clearly demonstrates there is a lack of data surrounding the quality and effectiveness of the intern year in preparing junior doctors for independent practice. Accordingly, an essential recommendation to come out of the Review must be to establish systems to provide better information on the quality of medical intern training, the transition from medical school to intern training, and subsequently to PGY2 and beyond.

To achieve this aim, the AMA advocates strongly for the implementation of a national training survey similar to the survey that the General Medical Council undertakes in the United Kingdom.

Related Download

Related topics