For this two-part series, the MJA interviewed various stakeholders about the length of medical education. This second part focuses on vocational training.
For many doctors, the pathway to becoming fully qualified is delayed by bottlenecks in the medical training pathway, as described in the first part of this MJA feature series.1 Some doctors spend years waiting to access specialty training, while there are fears that the increasing number of medical graduates may mean that some miss out on internships.
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- 1. McNamara S. Does it take too long to become a doctor? Part 1: Medical school and prevocational training. Med J Aust 2012; 196: 528-530. <MJA full text>
- 2. Specialist Education Accreditation Committee, Australian Medical Council. Standards for assessment and accreditation of specialist medical education programs and professional development programs by the Australian Medical Council 2010. Canberra: AMC, 2010. http://www.amc.org.au/images/Accreditation/standards-for-specialist-medical-training-2010.pdf (accessed May 2012).
- 3. Australian Medical Association. 2010 AMA Specialist Trainee Survey: report of findings. Canberra: AMA, 2011. http://ama.com.au/specialist-trainees-survey (accessed May 2012).
- 4. Health Workforce Australia. Health workforce 2025: doctors, nurses and midwives – volume 1. Adelaide: HWA, 2012. http://www.hwa.gov.au/ health-workforce-2025 (accessed May 2012).
- 5. Medical Training Review Panel. Medical Training Review Panel fifteenth report. Canberra: Department of Health and Ageing, 2012. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/5CEA280FF6BD5659CA2579AE0000 E151/$File/MTRP15.pdf (accessed May 2012).
- 6. Australian Medical Association. Report highlights critical shortage of training positions for medical graduates [media release]. 27 Apr 2012. http://ama.com.au/media/report-highlights-critical-shortage-training-positions-medical-graduates (accessed May 2012).
No relevant disclosures.
All direct quotations and paraphrased comments are based on personal interviews.