2 NEWS
2 NEWS
9 AUGUST 2024 ausdoc . com . au
We still need an IMG fix
Antony Scholefield THE Federal Government does not doubt that Australia needs more IMGs to patch the medical workforce , hence its plan to shrink the role of medical colleges in assessing specialist IMGs to determine if they are up to scratch .
But data show that Australia is already more reliant on IMGs than it was 10 years ago , especially for general practice , emergency medicine and psychiatry .
Newly released Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ( AIHW ) data reveal that IMGs made up 42 % of the GP workforce in 2022 , up from 34 % in 2013 .
These numbers put Australia in a poor position internationally in terms of producing doctors who continue
IMGs as a percentage of the workforce — by specialty to work in the country — despite a massive expansion of medical school places more than a decade ago .
In Italy in 2022 , for instance , 99 % of doctors were domestically trained , according to the AIHW .
But in Australia — as well as the UK , New Zealand and Norway — more than 30 % of doctors were IMGs , the data show .
Under the government ’ s plan , which pitches it against the medical colleges , overseas-trained GPs , psychiatrists , O & Gs and anaesthetists will be offered a fast-tracked pathway to practising depending on their country of training .
The government wants the new system launched before the end of 2024 .
IMGs as a percentage of the workforce
2013 2022 0 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 %
Israel 58 %
Intensive care medicine Emergency medicine
General practice Psychiatry Paediatrics
O & G Radiology Pathology
Anaesthesia Physician Surgery
Dermatology
New Zealand 42 %
Norway 42 %
Australia 32 %
UK 32 %
Canada 24 %
Chile 23 %
Greece 19 %
Germany 14 %
France 12 %
Colombia 6 %
Italy 1 %
No CPD credit for early ’ 25
Antony Scholefield DOCTORS will not be able to claim CPD activities completed early next year towards the current year ’ s requirements , the RACGP has confirmed .
Last year was the first year of the new CPD regime , where doctors had to complete 50 hours of CPD activities annually , plus self-reflection activities and a professional development plan .
However , the RACGP — with support from the Medical Board of Australia — let doctors backdate activities completed between January and March this year to meet their 2023 requirements .
However , a similar grace period would not be granted for the 2024 CPD year , the RACGP told members last month .
The college said all the other CPD homes had received word from the board not to allow further backdating , although CPD activities completed in 2024 could be recorded in early 2025 — up to 28 February .