Concerns As Start Of Medical Student Tsunami Reaches Intern Allocation, Australia

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 22 Jul 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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The national intern allocation period commenced yesterday, amidst concerns that some states may not be able to accommodate the increased number of medical graduates, despite a national workforce shortage.

The east coast states, particularly Queensland and New South Wales, are the first to feel the pressure from the burgeoning medical student 'tsunami' and students nationwide will be anxiously looking to these states as an indication of things to come.

AMSA has long voiced concerns over intern training capacity and called for more resources to establish sufficient quality intern places to accommodate the increase in medical graduates. 2009 is the start of the 'tsunami' and it will be a telling indicator of what the next few years - with even greater numbers - will bring.

AMSA President Tiffany Fulde commented, "Internship is a vital part of medical training. If students miss out on training places we cannot transform the increase in medical students into the increase in doctors that Australia so greatly needs."

Already New South Wales has invoked a priority listing and locally trained international students will in not be allocated in the first round as in previous years.

With 20 percent of medical students trained in Australia currently coming from overseas, this presents a significant change to medical education in Australia.

Source
Australian Medical Students' Association

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