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Nowhere to train docs: AMA
Association lashes out at government over approval of new medical school at Curtin.
By Andrew Bracey
The federal government is trading blows with the Australian Medical Association over doctors’ concerns that Curtin University’ s planned medical school will exacerbate training bottlenecks.
In May, Curtin vice-chancellor professor Deborah Terry said the government’ s green light for the proposed school would allow the university to help address an urgent doctor shortage in Western Australia, with its first intake of 60 students due to commence in 2017.
This number, she said, would double by 2022 and eventually include 10 places set aside for international students.
“ The program’ s proposed commencement date and staged growth will ensure the availability of postgraduation clinical places for students,” Terry said.“ Research has shown that hospitals in the eastern and southern suburbs will welcome medical students and this will be supported by placements in aged-care and mental health facilities, as well as in general practice and newly created clinical schools.
“ Curtin Medical School students will undertake a great deal of their clinical education at the university’ s soon-to-be-established Midland Campus, along with our nursing and allied health students.”
However, Terry’ s justification for the new school, and her highlighting of research that outlined the need for a surge in doctor numbers in the state, were not enough to win over the AMA.
The association, along with medical student groups, has long campaigned against the approval of any new Australian medical schools, on the grounds that a shortage of intern and vocational training places has created a worsening bottleneck for graduates.
AMA president associate professor Brian Owler described Prime Minister Tony Abbott’ s decision to approve the Curtin school as a“ calamitous captain’ s call by Captain Chaos” and said the opening of a new medical school in WA was not supported by the government’ s own advisory body.
“ There is no evidence for the need of a new medical school anywhere in Australia right now,” Owler said.“ We need training places, not new medical schools. The National Medical Training Advisory Network( NMTAN) has not recommended this course of action, and the recent Australia’ s Future Health Workforce( AFHW) report highlighted the need to get doctors working in the areas and specialties where they are most needed.
“ AFHW modelling also shows an emerging mismatch between the number of trainees seeking a vocational training place and the availability of places based on community need. This mismatch emerges from around 2017 in the most recent modelling, and extends to a shortfall of approximately 1000 places by 2030.”
Owler said the government’ s decision to provide funding for the Curtin school appeared“ to be a purely political decision” and urged all governments to focus instead on increasing pre-vocational and vocational training places“ instead of pumping more students into the system when the training pipeline is blocked”.
Treasurer Joe Hockey took offence at Owler’ s criticisms, describing the AMA president’ s comments as“ certainly not fitting for someone representing a great profession”.
“ Quite frankly, I think his comments were out of order,” Hockey said.
In turn, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen called on Hockey to issue a public apology to Owler for what amounted to an“ extraordinary” personal attack on one of the nation’ s most respected neurosurgeons.
Owler later lamented the debate having devolved into a series of personal attacks, telling reporters that the most important thing was to ensure quality training pathways for the nation’ s future medical workforce. n
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