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Professional development and careers

AMA Victoria’s professional development and careers team provide doctors with a variety of career, leadership, high-performance, professional development and impairment assessment training services designed to support doctors across their entire career lifecycle – from med student to retirement. 

Our services are medically specific and include member benefit and coaching consults; coaching, professional development, and training programs; resources and education sessions. We support all AMA Members and non-members and our team is made up of highly experienced and accredited coaches with extensive knowledge of the health sector and the career journey of a doctor.   

Our coaching consults/programs and training programs are available for a fee which is discounted considerably for AMA members. 


Our services:

The ‘career call’ and ‘resume check-up’ consults are member benefits and are available to all AMA members (excluding students). 

The ‘career health check’, ‘retirement-ready chat’ and ‘leader-check-in’ consults are also member benefits but at this stage are only available to AMA Victoria members (excluding students). 

For students, we work hard to support you to navigate these as you journey through medical school and transition to intern. Click here to learn more about our free student membership and the services we offer.


 

Member benefits

  • Career call » 

The ‘career call’ service is member benefit for AMA Victoria members (excluding students).  By scheduling a career call, you can engage with one of our career consultants (Zoom/telephone) for a fifteen-minute career discussion.

INFO AND BOOKING

  • Resume check-up » 

The ‘resume check-up’ service is member benefit for AMA Victoria members (excluding students).  By scheduling a ‘resume check-up’ session you can engage with one of our career consultants (Zoom/telephone) for a fifteen-minute consult to review your resume.

INFO AND BOOKING

  • Leader check-in »
  • Career health check »

We recommend reviewing your career annually and we call this a ‘career health check’. It doesn’t have to be an onerous task and can be achieved by asking yourself a few questions which you then debrief with a qualified careers coach.

INFO AND BOOKING
 

The leader check-in is a benefit of your AMA Victoria membership and takes the form of a 15-minute phone or zoom coaching conversation with one of our experienced leadership & professional coaches.

INFO AND BOOKING

  • Retirement ready chat »

By scheduling a retirement ready chat, you can engage with one of our career consultants (via telephone or Zoom) for a 15-minute discussion to explore your thoughts regarding planning for retirement, whether that means restructuring clinical or non-clinical time, closing a practice, or investigating alternate medical or non-medical pathways.

INFO AND BOOKING


Careers

  • Resumes, cover letters and applications »

Coaching can assist you to: Identify and achieve your career goals; to support you in making informed career decisions; and to assist in building capacity in areas essential to advancing your career.

INFO AND BOOKING
 

  • Interviews » 

We support doctors at all stages of their career with interview preparation - from the intern application process, interviews for accredited training positions and colleges, through to interviews for senior leadership positions. 

INFO AND BOOKING

  • Retirement »

Many doctors struggle to retire well. The reasons for this are often complex but issues of identity, deep immersion in a professional role, and a later retirement age are common. Because of this, AMA Victoria has designed 3 programs to help doctors identify their goals, gain personal insight and establish a new balance after retirement.

INFO AND BOOKING


Leadership

  • Leadership coaching consult »

AMA Victoria’s leadership coaching service provides confidential, goal-directed, and supportive conversations with an expert leadership coach. The purpose is to design individually tailored goals and action plans to support each person’s leadership development in their current role and context and support them to reach their goals.

INFO AND BOOKING

High performance

  • Professional coaching » 

This program helps doctors identify their professional goals, gain personal insight & enhance their career potential using a combination of coaching, reflective practice, diagnostic tools & resources. 

INFO AND BOOKING

  • Building your professional brand »

Our programs are designed to equip you with the skills and tools needed to build a strong professional brand at any stage of your career, so you can develop, progress, and achieve your professional goals.

INFO AND BOOKING

 

Impairment Assessment Training


Testimonials and case studies

My coach listened to me and thoroughly evaluated me and my situation. She provided me with information and options. She then discussed with me possible strategies I could use to reach my goals and supported me in implementing some of these strategies. I found her genuine, logical, well connected and reliable.

This doctor went on to implement a strategy and plan that saw them successfully pass exams that had been attempted and failed on two previous occasions
The advice session I had with you was incredibly helpful in guiding my application process. Out of my 7 applications, I was offered 4 interviews, which I was pleasantly surprised with. I would have loved to have caught up with you to discuss the interview process.

This intern successfully secured BPT1 year at one of the big 4 Tertiary Hospitals
Thank you for all your help & your sincere life advice for us junior doctors. I'm delighted to let you know I'll be an intern at Monash Health next year.

Final Year Student – support with Internship application process
I interviewed at the Austin, RMH and St Vincent's, and have been offered a job at the Austin next year, which was my first preference so am very pleased.

Final Year Student – support with Internship application process
I found my career advice very helpful, it was very useful to discuss my preferences - with your advice I applied for 6 preference as opposed to 8 so saved me some time, and the feedback for my cv encouraged me to include more detail. Working on my cover letters was also useful for preparing for the interview.

Final Year Student – support with Internship application process
I would like to thank my coach for her help during my careers consultation. I am certain that her frank advice and guidance made a positive impact on my application experience. I would recommend that other students also invest in your consultation services to help guide the development of their own 'professional brand' and to ensure that they achieve the most from the time that they invest in job applications.

Final Year Student – support with Internship application process
I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your help during intern applications. I have been lucky enough to be offered an internship at RMH. I am so excited. Anyway thanks for everything and I hope we can continue to have meetings with future career planning as I found your advice very helpful.

Final Year Student – support with Internship application process
It was great to meet you too and get such valuable advice. I have a much better idea now of what is relevant info and how to market myself (which is something I'm not that used to doing). Looking forward to our next catch up.

Final Year Student – support with Internship application process
I learned a lot from my coach. We spent several sessions working on my approach when applying for hospital jobs.

We discussed what career opportunities were viable given my medical experience overseas, what to say and how to communicate with HR managers, how to make my cover letter and CV attractive to potential employers, and focused on hospitals where I had a better chance of employment

She taught me how to 'rebrand myself' in such a way that there is consistency and depth in the manner of how I communicated, wrote my emails and presented my CV and cover letter.

She would always stress that it takes tenacity, determination and genuine interest when applying for these hospital jobs. It is something all IMGs should take into consideration if they want to find work.

OTD HMO – Successful in obtaining a HMO role that was approved by AHPRA
My coach listened to me and thoroughly evaluated me and my situation. My coach provided me with information and supported me to source and assess options. She then coached me through possible strategies I could use to reach my goals and supported me in implementing some of these strategies. I found her genuine, logical, well connected and reliable.

Senior Registrar who used the professional coaching to support the implementation of a strategy and plan that saw them successfully pass their final exams after having attempted and failed on two previous occasions
This program exceeded my expectations. My coach was a greater listener, created a safe and objective space and gave practical, highly valuable suggestions and advice which I continue to draw upon. An excellent program, especially for those new to leadership in the Healthcare sector.

Head of Department, Large Tertiary Metropolitan Hospital
Fantastic. I highly recommend Leadership coaching for anyone in a health leadership position.

Clinical Lead / Senior Consultant, Large Tertiary Metropolitan Hospital
My coach and the AMA Victoria professional coaching program was pivitol in supporting me to take up my new leadership role. I exited the program feeling authorised in my new role with a clear plan, goals and actions that I had begun working towards. I would not have been able to achieve this without the support of my coach.

Newly appointed Head of Department, Regional Health Service
My program was absolutely fantastic! I often worry about the cost benefit of things like this. But it was without a doubt worth every cent! The minute I finished my program I recommended to my friends! Very worthwhile!

Senior Registrar, Metropolitan Health Service
 

AMA Victoria’s Careers Advisory Service provides medically specific career management solutions. It assists members achieve professional goals through active career coaching and supported transition. If you are thinking about utilising the service or want to know more about how it can help you, these are the recent stories of three members.

Transitioning to sabbatical leave »

A senior doctor who held a number of executive roles at a major hospital had reached the point where the work was just not enjoyable or rewarding anymore. After many years of being in a position of leadership, the prospect of transitioning back into a research or lead clinical role where their focus could be on clinical medicine and patients, instead of budgets and management issues became very appealing. They were also keen to take a sabbatical to explore some research opportunities and to travel.

While taking a sabbatical is an entitlement, this doctor was concerned about how an extended break would impact on the workload of their team. They had also been discouraged from taking a sabbatical by their workplace. 

Our careers advisors initially sat down with the doctor to unpack all the issues, discuss how to transition from their current role to the next and to determine the steps they needed to take to achieve their goals. 

Over several sessions we investigated what the blocks – real and perceived – were to taking a sabbatical and to transitioning workload. An important shift achieved in these sessions was the authorisation to ask and take the sabbatical they were entitled to – this was granted and taken. The doctor also felt confident about their decision-making process to transition their career and to articulate this to others, which led to a role in clinical leadership and research.

Managing boundaries between home and work »

Doctors tend to take their jobs very seriously and some struggle to manage the boundary between home and work as result. They may struggle to find an ‘off’ button, which can be draining. Always being ‘on’ creates pressure which can often become more pronounced as the demands of their personal lives increase.

One particular doctor was facing just this problem. While taking work very seriously, their inability to manage the boundary and switch off was impacting their personal life and was taking a toll on their general wellbeing. Subsequently, they started to question whether clinical medicine was right for them long-term.

AMA Victoria’s career coaching service supported this doctor to clarify their thinking objectively and to assess what their options might be. We then explored what life beyond clinical medicine might look like and supported them in planning for this transition.

It was quite a lengthy process and we met many times over a 12-month period. Over that time we saw this doctor build confidence and clarity about their options and decision-making framework and reach a point where they became recharged, reenergised and ready to act. We then worked with them to redevelop the tools they needed to pursue alternate career pathways.

The doctor was successful in sourcing a non-clinical role as well as opportunities in research and is now on their way to realising their career aspirations in a new pathway. 

Sourcing an IMG supervised role »

We had an overseas trained doctor come to us looking for assistance to increase their success in sourcing a supervised role in Australia. This international medical graduate (IMG) member had already approached the job market with full-force and had little success. 

We sat down with them and quickly realised the problem was a common one shared by IMGs. Their presentation (both written and verbal) was simply not up to the standard expected by prospective employers. They also needed to revise their strategy and model of engagement with these prospective employers. There was lots of work to be done! 

We worked with this doctor for more than 12 months on all of the areas we had identified which needed considerable work. After working very hard and taking on board all the advice we gave, the doctor came out of the process with two job offers. Both offers complied with the APHRA supervision requirements.

This doctor is now commencing their Australian medical career in 2018 and is well positioned to be successful in their professional endeavours. They now recognise the importance of continuing to spend time developing their skills to support their successful transition into the Australian health system and beginning their role as an HMO.
 


Our team

Your AMA Victoria coaches are here to help. Click to read each profile below.

 
 
 

LORETTA HART
Career and brand coach

Loretta Hart is an experienced careers and business coach. She is passionate about supporting doctors to build a strong brand that aligns with their values and plays to their strengths. With 15 years of experience in marketing, messaging, sales and business development, Loretta brings a fresh approach to guiding professionals to understand their point of difference.

With hundreds of hours of coaching Loretta is skilled in honing in on key issues, developing people’s confidence and ensuring they know the action that needs to be taken after each session.

Loretta has a BT (Primary), is fascinated by human behaviour and understands the blocks that tend to lead to procrastination and frustration.


Contact

If you need more information about AMA Victoria’s Career Advisory Service, contact our coaches between 9am – 5pm, Monday - Friday: (03) 9280 8722 or careersadvisor@amavic.com.au.


Terms and conditions

Read AMA Victoria's Professional Development and Careers Service T&Cs here.

 

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