Australian Medical Association

The AMA believes that Health Workforce Australia (HWA) can play a significant role in providing funding support to increase available resources for teaching and training prevocational doctors and vocational trainees.  The attached AMA paper Supporting prevocational and vocational training through Health Workforce Australia puts forward specific proposals regarding how this can be achieved.

The Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils (CPMEC) has prepared a discussion paper on the structure and content of the internship - the year of supervised clinical training completed by graduates of an Australian Medical Council-accredited medical school.

The AMA Council of Doctors-in-Training has written to CPMEC and given broad support to the discussion paper’s recommendations as they align with the AMA’s position on the duration of the intern year, its core terms and the role of placements in community settings.

Findings of the AMA Junior Doctor Training, Education and Supervision Survey

This resources, with links to the ATO, will help doctors understand the implications and impact of GST on their practice.

The Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) has developed changes to the federal legislation which restricts access to Medicare provider numbers and effectively limits where international medical graduates and “former overseas medical students” can work for a minimum period of 10 years – the “10-year moratorium”. AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, has written to Minister for Health and Ageing to request that the proposed amendments be introduced into Federal Parliament.

The consortium of eleven graduate medical schools is seeking the ACCC’s permission to continue its policies and practices for selecting applicants to graduate medical schools. These include the preference policy where applicants submit a single application to the Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admission Centre, and the one interview policy whereby applicants receive only one offer for an interview.

In its submission the AMA has said that, on balance, the public benefits from authorising the graduate medical school consortium to continue these polices and practices outweighs any potential drawbacks;  however, the AMA has noted that where a graduate medical school uses the interview process to look for certain qualities in an applicant, there is the potential for the applicant to be disadvantaged by the interview process in some circumstances. The AMA has encouraged the ACCC to address these issues in the authorisation process.

AMA Position Statement: Workplace Bullying and Harassment - 2009

There is good evidence that bullying and harassment of doctors occurs in the workplace. One Australian study found that 50% of Australian junior doctors had been bullied in their workplace, and a New Zealand study reported that 50% of doctors had experienced at least one episode of bullying behaviour during their previous three or sixth-month clinical attachment.

Workplace bullying of members of the medical workforce can occur between colleagues students and employees, and any contractors, patients, and family members with whom they are dealing.

The evidence is clear that workplace bullying contributes to poor employee health including the physical and psychological manifestations of stress and depression. Workplace bullying may affect medical students, junior doctors or senior specialists. Workplace bullying and harassment may impact on the training and education of doctors. It creates a poor learning environment due to the continued erosion of confidence, skills and initiative of the doctor, thereby creating a negative attitude towards their chosen specialty.

The AMA has prepared this position statement on workplace bullying and harassment in order to:

• to provide a guide for all doctors, hospital and practice managers to identify and manage workplace bullying and harassment;
• to raise awareness and reduce the exposure of doctors to workplace bullying and harassment; and
• to assist the medical profession in combating its perpetuation.

The Australian Curriculum Framework is being developed by the Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils and will define the core capabilities expected of prevocational doctors. The AMACDT has provided feedback on the revised version of the framework.

RANZCR’s training program is being assessed by the Australian Medical Council (AMC). The review is part of the AMC’s ongoing program of external assessment and accreditation of specialist medical education and training. The AMA has prepared a submission on RANZCR’s training program to the AMC, based on trainee input.

The Federal Parliament's Senate Community Affairs Committee is conducting an Inquiry into the Health Workforce Australia Bill 2009 (the "Bill"). The Commonwealth agreed to establish a new health workforce agency at the November 2008 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting and this Bill seeks to implement that commitment.

The AMA has provided a submission to the Senate Inquiry.

The AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, has written to the Minister for Health and Ageing to seek assurances that there will be sufficient clinical training positions for interns and specialist trainees in the public sector.

The AMA provided feedback on the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission’s interim report in April 2009

The feedback is set out in the table below. The AMA President also attended a one-on-one briefing session with the Chair of the Commission in April 2009 to more fully outline the AMA's views on the Commission's interim report.

AMA submission to the AMC regarding the training program of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).

Some of the issues raised by trainees include concerns about the training and information provided to supervisors and examiners, the examination process, and the availability of remediation for trainees in difficulty.

The Government recently introduced legislation that as part of a broad range of reforms  to taxation and welfare programs, will change the rules for claiming an income tax deduction for personal superannuation contributions.

This fact sheet provides basic information about the change and how you can be involved in AMA lobbying efforts to have the legislation amended.

The NHWT has released a discussion paper on options for managing clinical placements, managing funding arrangements for clinical training, and the role of the national health workforce agency that was announced by the Council of Australian Governments in November 2008.

The AMA’s submission to the NHWT is attached.

AMA Position Statement: Clinical support time for public hospital doctors - 2009

The AMA defines clinical support time as protected time for duties that are not directly related to individual patient care. Clinical support duties encompass most aspects of the teaching, continuing professional development, clinical governance, administration and research activities undertaken by clinicians in the public health sector.

The purpose of this position statement is to specify a minimum benchmark of remunerated time for clinical support duties for senior and junior clinicians. It includes a comprehensive list of the roles and responsibilities that constitute clinical support time to assist with developing job descriptions and work schedules.

The AMA's response to Matter number AM 2008/13.

The AMA has made a submission in response to the draft national awards and also appeared before AIRC hearings in Sydney. The AMA has argued that the new awards may result in cost increases for some private medical practices as they prescribe, in some cases, more generous working conditions than those contained in existing awards. The AMA submission called on the AIRC to bring working conditions in the proposed awards back into line with current awards so that medical practices are not hit with increases in costs.

The Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils is developing an accreditation framework covering prevocational training positions across the country. While generally supportive of the concept, the AMA Council of Doctors in Training has expressed concerns at the current draft document that has been released for comment. In particular, the AMACDT believes that the draft PMAF focuses too heavily on general principles and procedures. While there are references to governance and supervisory standards, the document does not outline the applicable standards, and associated criteria and indicators, by which hospitals should be assessed in order to gain accreditation for their clinical training.

The AMACDT has encouraged the CMPEC to involve AMACDT representatives in preparing a revised draft to ensure that the input of junior doctors is properly taken into account.

ANZCA is undertaking a review of its curriculum. Based on trainee feedback, the AMA provided a submission to the review. The submission notes that trainees have reported that the College maintains a strong focus on trainee issues and are supportive of the current curriculum. The primary exam and the module-structure curriculum are noted as particular College strengths. The submission provides specific feedback on:

• Access to specialty terms
• Recognition of prior learning
• College fees
• Teaching and supervisory skills
• Educational material
• Final exam syllabus
• Basic training
• Level 1 supervision

AMA Submission to National Health Workforce Taskforce on understanding demand and capacity for undergraduate clinical placements.

AMA Position Statement: Hospitalists - 2008

The AMA Survey Report on Junior Doctor Health and Wellbeing presents the findings of the AMA's survey of the health and wellbeing of 914 junior doctors at the postgraduate year 2 level and above across Australia and New Zealand.

To read the full report click here AMA Survey Report on Junior Doctor Health and Wellbeing

The medical profession has a strong commitment to high quality patient care. This commitment often translates to working patterns that may leave you exposed to higher than acceptable risks of fatigue.

AMA Position Statement: Health Workforce Reform - 2008

AMA Work-life flexibility survey report

AMA Position Statement Medical Training in Expanded Settings Including the Private Sector - 2007

AMA Position Statement: Accommodation And Appointment Standards For Community Placements - 2007

A guide for prospective medical students on the steps to becoming a doctor and the bonded medical places that are offered by the Australian Government.

AMA/RDAA Rural Workforce Rescue Package Fact Sheet

AMA Policy for Better Health Care in Regional, Rural and Remote Australia