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Victorian Doctors in Training worried about their future
09 October 2008
Doctors in training last night demanded immediate action to ensure that training for the next generation of doctors was not compromised by the Victorian Government.
“We need good doctors to provide good health care,” AMA Victoria Doctors in Training Subdivision President, Dr Steve Moylan said, “and to produce good doctors we need good teachers — senior doctors in our hospitals with the experience and knowledge, but also the time and space to teach.”
Dr Moylan explained that doctors coming out of medical school do a year as an intern, then between five and eight years working in a hospital before becoming a fully fledged specialist. Medical specialty training is an experience-based, apprenticeship model.
“The early years of medical training are critical,” “Dr Moylan said. “Senior doctors are leaving the public hospital system — so who’s going to teach us and the next generation of doctors?”
Dr Moylan said that doctors in training are often experiencing poor supervision and support because there are fewer senior doctors available. “When a senior specialist leaves to take a better job in the private sector or another state, not only do services suffer, but the remaining specialists’ teaching time is squeezed. Junior doctors have to pick up the slack, but this comes at a cost of learning time. There’s less time and opportunity to work with senior specialists.
“Poor teaching means poorer quality health care. We need the safety net of senior, experienced doctors in our public health system.”
Dr Moylan said that doctors in training were dedicated, but needed training, mentoring and support from senior colleagues to become the best doctors that they can be.
“Victorian public hospitals currently have an unhealthy reliance on junior doctors and international medical graduates. Both of these groups need support and training,” Dr Moylan said. “The quality of training — and the quality of health care — is under real threat unless there is urgent action to support training.
“As the Minister’s own report says, morale is low. Junior doctors are feeling exploited, and are getting angry. Doctors in training are incredulous that the Minister asked experts to conduct a review for him, and has failed to act on it for more than ten months now.”
The Doctors in Training Subdivision of AMA Victoria passed a resolution demanding that the Minister for Health, the Hon Daniel Andrews:
- Provide assurances that doctors in training will receive adequate teaching in Victorian public hospitals, by ensuring that all doctors have at least twenty per cent of their paid time devoted to training, research, quality assurance and related activities;
- Implement the cultural improvements recommended by the Ministerial Review of Public Hospital Medical Staff;
- Ensure hospitals comply with existing entitlements.
- Recognise that doctors in training in Victoria are among the lowest paid in the country; and
- Finalise the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement with AMA Victoria before the end of October 2008.
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