AMA President Dr Steve Robson and Council of Doctors in Training Chair Dr Hannah Szewczyk attended the Health Workforce Roundtable convened by the Minister for Health and Aged Care in Canberra on 23 August 2022.
The roundtable is part of the upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit in early September.
As part of AMA advocacy, AMA President Professor Steve Robson is calling on the government to fund the urgent implementation of the National Medical Workforce Strategy.
"This strategy was years in the making, and it now must be funded and implemented as a matter of urgency, with data driven medical workforce supply and demand modelling needed as a priority," Professor Robson said.
"The modelling will guide medical student and doctor in training numbers ensuring they are in line with community need. If these processes recommend changes to medical school intakes, or training numbers for specialties forecast to be in under or over supply we should follow them."
The AMA has a comprehensive strategy addressing health workforce issues including:
promoting a career in general practice by growing prevocational training opportunities in general practice and improving employment conditions for General Practice Registrars so they match their hospital-based colleagues
expanding the Commonwealth Government's Specialist Training Program to 1700 places over the next term of Government, giving priority to rural areas, generalist training and specialties that are under-supplied.
investing in regional teaching hospitals to ensure they have sufficient capacity to host STP-funded non-GP specialist registrars.
implementing the National Rural Generalist Pathway nationally, and a commitment to ongoing funding.
encouraging end-to-end rural medical training programs, with a view to ensuring they provide positive rural exposure and lead to retention of rural medical practitioners.
expanding capacity for remote learning (training and educational opportunities, especially for trainees in regional/rural sites, and potential remote supervision); and
promoting regional training and research teaching hospital hubs to grow non-GP specialist capacity outside metropolitan areas.
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