Retention of rural doctors linked to opportunities to develop scope of practice
It is well known there is a maldistribution of doctors in Australia, which leads to a shortage of doctors working rurally. The scope of practice required of rural general practitioners acts as an incentive for some and discourages others. To address the workforce shortfall, internationally trained medical graduates are employed with most required to work in an underserved location (typically rural) for a mandated period of time.
A recently published paper by ANU Rural Clinical School researchers found the workforce pipeline for Australian trained and internationally trained doctors differed. Each respective cohort’s journey into rural practice was premised with different motivations and obligations whilst their intention to stay rural was often linked to the opportunity to further develop their skills and subsequent scope of practice.
“It is important that the training pipeline takes into consideration the needs of both cohorts, including the life stage, previous experience and practice ambition” said co-author Suzanne Bain-Donohue.
“It is equally important to cater for Australian medical graduates who may feel they don’t possess the necessary competence as a result of an expedited training program to undertake extended clinical skills as it is to provide opportunities for international medical graduates to obtain training places along with recognition of skills they may already possess”.
The articles findings suggest that creating the opportunity and resources to provide both cohorts with flexible entry points and necessary support to obtain postgraduate qualifications will assist in retention of doctors working as rural general practitioners and that this would be further enhanced if the expertise and commitment of both Australian and internationally trained doctors is used in a synergistic manner.
The full article can be found at: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.13105