To the Editor: McGrath and colleagues raise important questions about medical training in Australia.1 Their solutions take an admirable overall approach to policy, but fail to fully acknowledge the current reality of training and service delivery in the health sector. The Productivity Commission is certainly taking a broad approach to these matters,2 but I wonder if more lateral thinking and a reference to the past might help provide a solution?
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- Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, TAS.
- 1. McGrath BP, Graham IS, Crotty BJ, Jolly BC. Lack of integration of medical education in Australia: the need for change. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 346-348. <MJA full text>
- 2. Australian Government Productivity Commission. Australia’s health workforce. Productivity Commission research report, 22 December 2005. Canberra: Productivity Commission, 2005. Available at: www.pc.gov.au/study/healthworkforce/finalreport/healthworkforce.pdf (accessed Jun 2006).
- 3. Beck AH. The Flexner report and the standardization of American medical education. JAMA 2004; 291: 2139-2140.
- 4. Prince KJAH, Boshuizen HPA, van der Vleuten CPM, Scherpbier AJJA. Students’ opinions about their preparation for clinical practice. Med Educ 2005; 39: 704-712.