What is the ‘medical student tsunami’?

Following graduation from the challenging years of Australian graduate medical school studies, medical students must complete a compulsory year, known as internship, in which they spend a grueling 50 to 60 hours a week taking on the routine care of patients in hospital. From internship, graduates can launch themselves into vocational or specialty training. Without this internship, graduates cannot obtain their registration to work as a medical practitioner within Australia.

The issue facing current medical students and recent graduates is that there is an ever-rising number of medical student graduates, such that not everyone has a job at the end of their studies. This isn’t to say that we are training too many medical students - in fact, Australia still has a doctor shortage – rather it is that we haven’t expanded the number of internship and advanced training places in sync to accommodate this expanding number of medical students.

 

Why has this come about?
The number of internship and vocational training positions is simply far below the number of medical graduates requiring these positions.

Many medical schools have recruited additional full-fee paying and international students, which may reflect inadequate funding by the Federal Government for these medical schools. The state government, which is responsible for managing internships, has no control over this number, and therefore is somewhat reluctant to fund internships for the increasing number of medical graduates. In addition, it is the federal government that is responsible for coordinating the places in specialty training for junior medical officers, creating disconnect between state and federal coordination of the problem. 

 

Who is most affected by this?
Most of the graduates that do not acquire an internship position are international full-fee students, as commonwealth supported place (CSP) students are guaranteed an internship, and domestic students are generally prioritised above international students in the allocation of internships.

This seems a problem to which there is no simple fix. If appropriate measures are not taken, many students will be unable to find their internship within Australia and have to travel abroad, ultimately resulting in the loss of Australian-trained doctors.

 

What can I do?
Unfortunately, as the solution rests with state and territory governments, medical students simply need to keep themselves informed so that they can make decisions appropriate to their circumstances.  If you want to do more, contact your medical school society to discuss other ways you can get involved.

Check out our GAMSAT To Med School Podcast for more interesting news, tips & tricks about the GAMSAT, applying to medical school, and life at med school.