This month, the College submitted its feedback to the Department of Health on the draft National Medical Workforce Strategy.

The College is a member on the Medical Workforce Reform Advisory Committee which oversights the Strategy and continues to contribute to its development. 

President Dr Sarah Chalmers says the Strategy signals the opportunity to refocus and reform national workforce planning and investment. 

“It’s clear that continuing our current frameworks will lead to spiraling healthcare costs and worsening of the already critical underservicing in many rural and remote areas,” Dr Chalmers says.

“It’s our hope the Strategy will drive whole-of-sector change in our systems for selecting, training and supporting future doctors and deliver a healthcare system providing access to excellent care for ‘all’ Australians.

 “While opportunities to improve the draft document are detailed in our feedback, overall we are pleased with the broad direction and will continue to monitor its further development.”

Some key points in our feedback include supporting:

• Incorporation of the Rural Generalist Pathway as a national workforce solution
• A focus on strengthening primary care and generalist skillsets
• Recognition of the need to address growing overspecialisation and workforce oversupply in many specialist areas and the market distortions this can bring
• Refocusing the training model to promote rurally based training wherever possible, with opportunities to access urban training as needed
• Strengthening rurally focused selection and training in medical schools and during internship
• Initiatives to grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctor workforce
• Recognising the need to ensure locum workforces are supporting and not replacing permanent doctors and resources particularly in rural and remote areas