Doctors Reform Society of Australia
			supporting health care reforms to ensure justice, equity and quality care for all
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5.1  Medical Education
5.1.1  The DRS believes:
    i. Medical training should integrate scientific and clinical training within an inter-disciplinary framework, covering all major areas of clinical practice;
    ii. Education of health care professionals should be integrated as far as possible to promote inter-disciplinary understanding and cooperation;
 iii. Specific training in primary health care should be developed and expanded to reflect the relative importance of this sector to the community, and to the majority of medical graduates;  (see also Primary Health Care and Community Health 4.3.6 and Medical Workforce 5.2.3)
    iv. Primary health care, general medicine and general surgery would form the core areas of medical training;
    v. Clinical input, both hospital and non-hospital, should occur at every stage of the medical curriculum.
(see also Occupational Health 12.2; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 7.11; and Women's Health 8.1.4)
5.1.2  The DRS believes that the medical curriculum should develop:
    i. an understanding of health in terms of social and economic relations;
    ii. an understanding of disease prevention and health promotion;
    iii. the concepts of empowerment of individuals and groups to be in control of their own health.
5.1.3  The DRS believes that academic staff at tertiary level should be required to be trained in education methods.
5.1.4  The DRS believes that selection to medical schools should not be based solely on academic merit.  Medical schools should have flexible selection criteria with the aim of broadening as far as possible the base from which applicants are successful.
5.1.5  The DRS believes that affirmative action strategies should be implemented, so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are selected for entry to all medical schools. (see also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 7.10)
5.1.6  The DRS supports affirmative action by recruitment of medical students who have had their high school education in rural areas.
5.1.7  The DRS believes that there should be provision for part time undergraduate and postgraduate training for both male and female graduates.
5.1.8  The DRS believes that free education is the right of every individual.  Income assistance should be available to ensure equality and universality of access to tertiary education.

5.2  Medical Registration
5.2.1  The DRS calls for the replacement of State Medical Registration Boards by a single national medical body to be responsible for registration of practitioners and medico-legal and ethical matters.
5.2.2  The DRS supports the establishment of a national medical indemnity scheme.
5.2.3  The DRS believes  foreign trained medical graduates with permanent residency should be allowed to practise in their area of medicine if they can demonstrate professional competence to an independent peer review body.

5.3  Medical Workforce
5.3.1  The DRS bases its medical workforce policy on the principle that Medicare remains the fairest and most cost effective way of delivering the bulk of medical services to Australians. All workforce policies therefore, have to be assessed for any adverse impact on Medicare.
5.3.2  The DRS acknowledges that all fee-for-service remuneration systems, including Medicare, are subject to a degree of provider-induced demand.  This demand can only be reduced by further resourcing the public sector to provide alternatives to fee-for service. (see also Specialists 4.7.1)
5.3.3  The DRS supports the requirement of all graduates to receive appropriate post-graduate training. Training for General Practice must recognise that it encompasses a broad range of sub-specialist areas including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, drug and alcohol services, sexual health, child development, women's health, palliative medicine and rural based General Practice.  Training programs must therefore provide a range of options to recognise this diversity of practice.
(see also Specialists 4.7.2)
5.3.4  The DRS opposes the restriction of training positions and of provider numbers as a tool to restructure the workforce.  Restrictions on numbers of doctors should occur at intake to medical school.
5.3.5  The DRS believes doctors have the right to basic work practice standards common to most industries, for example limiting lengths of shifts and number of days worked in succession and providing 'debriefing' and counselling especially for junior doctors.
 

.		.	The Doctors Reform Society of Australia, Box 14, 4 Goulburn Street, Sydney 2000. Phone 02 9264-9084 Fax 02 9267-4393.	.
			This page was last updated on 29th January, 2003.
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