Without wishing to hijack the “imagration” thread. (the winner of “best unintentional irony award” for thread titles this year). I really feel the medical side-issue running thru deserves its own thread.
The Rural doctor issue is complex and the importation of foreign doctors is a short term fix.
Rural doctors are a dying breed and the skill set required is absolutely enormous. They are on call 24/7, they have to make do without easy access to labs, XRs, and professional support. They treat from the womb to the tomb,. Very few want their jobs so they are the ones up for grabs from foreign trained
QLD Junior doctors are sent out from their second year onwards to do a country relieving term to relieve the stressed, overworked Medicos. It’s always a source of stress to them despite attempts by the parent hospitals to reinforce basic skills such as plastering, suturing and emergency care. It isn’t the best introduction, Most feel very uncomfortable during their time.
The medical students all come from universities where they study for 5-7 years (as all med students now are post grad), all the unis are coastal major metropolitan centres. So at the end of their training they are late 20s-early 30s with spouses, parallel carreers, kids + lives centred in the metropolitan areas. I would change the emphasis WW puts on metro raised females …all docs are metro-trained- for years and years!
James Cook Uni and some medical colleges like emergency medicine, are focusing more on the rural aspect but the social isolation problems will always remain.
Are we “stealing” third world doctors? Yes! They are ALREADY trained they aren’t looking for more education, they are looking for a better life. And why shouldn’t they? It’s the right of humanity to want more for their kids and themselves.
The problem is, the individual docs do whats best for them…. But the home country suffers brain drain, should the wishes of the individual supersede the rights of the nation that trained them? It’s the prisoners dilemma, I have no idea what the answer is to that one.
As a global policy maker I say no, as a quick fix for the shortage, I say yes…
As for the tight regulations on foreign training for reciprocal recognition here… absolutely critical. Australian medicine is one of the highest standard in the world. It should stay that way.
Lastly, Bayviews take on private hospitals…. Correct! But private hospital cost cutting isn’t a patch on the public system cost cutting. we cant even get paid properly in Qld health.
cheers
The Rural doctor issue is complex and the importation of foreign doctors is a short term fix.
Rural doctors are a dying breed and the skill set required is absolutely enormous. They are on call 24/7, they have to make do without easy access to labs, XRs, and professional support. They treat from the womb to the tomb,. Very few want their jobs so they are the ones up for grabs from foreign trained
QLD Junior doctors are sent out from their second year onwards to do a country relieving term to relieve the stressed, overworked Medicos. It’s always a source of stress to them despite attempts by the parent hospitals to reinforce basic skills such as plastering, suturing and emergency care. It isn’t the best introduction, Most feel very uncomfortable during their time.
The medical students all come from universities where they study for 5-7 years (as all med students now are post grad), all the unis are coastal major metropolitan centres. So at the end of their training they are late 20s-early 30s with spouses, parallel carreers, kids + lives centred in the metropolitan areas. I would change the emphasis WW puts on metro raised females …all docs are metro-trained- for years and years!
James Cook Uni and some medical colleges like emergency medicine, are focusing more on the rural aspect but the social isolation problems will always remain.
Are we “stealing” third world doctors? Yes! They are ALREADY trained they aren’t looking for more education, they are looking for a better life. And why shouldn’t they? It’s the right of humanity to want more for their kids and themselves.
The problem is, the individual docs do whats best for them…. But the home country suffers brain drain, should the wishes of the individual supersede the rights of the nation that trained them? It’s the prisoners dilemma, I have no idea what the answer is to that one.
As a global policy maker I say no, as a quick fix for the shortage, I say yes…
As for the tight regulations on foreign training for reciprocal recognition here… absolutely critical. Australian medicine is one of the highest standard in the world. It should stay that way.
Lastly, Bayviews take on private hospitals…. Correct! But private hospital cost cutting isn’t a patch on the public system cost cutting. we cant even get paid properly in Qld health.
cheers
I don't know what the answer is, either. Perhaps to require each country to train as many doctors as it uses, even if they move around a bit? eg If Australia imports, on average, 1000 doctors trained overseas each year, then we should have to - under international law - take in 1000 overseas doctors for training each year. We're probably still stealing some of the brightest minds, but at least we wouldn't be adding "insult to injury" by requiring third world countries to pay for their education. 
