Medical training must be priority for health ministers
The AMA has written to Health Minister Sussan Ley urging her to make medical training a priority agenda item when she meets with the State and Territory Health Ministers in coming weeks.
AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, said that the threat of shortages of training positions for medical graduates – illustrated by news this week that large numbers of South Australian domestic medical graduates will miss out on internships from 2017 – could become a national crisis over the next few years.
“There is an urgent need to provide sufficient prevocational and vocational training places for medical graduates, with a particular emphasis on underserviced locations and under-supplied specialty areas. The AMA is calling on all Health Ministers to re-affirm past COAG commitments, and agree to work more closely together in the funding, planning, and coordination of medical training places,” Professor Owler said.
