Australian Citizen (Never lived in AUS) studying in Poland: Where to Specialize?

[The-Foreigner]

Hi everyone!

I’ve read this forum with great interest and have found a hefty amount of information in answer to a long list of questions I had. However, I find that I’m in a SLIGHTLY different situation from many posting here, and would appreciate some advice/ answers/confirmation to a couple of questions I have. If indeed someone in the same situation has already posted SOMEWHERE about this, I would highly appreciate a link to the thread!


(Apologies in advance for the upcoming essay)


Background:
Medical student currently studying in Poland who’s also an AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN (However, I’ve NEVER visited/lived in Australia). Additionally, I grew up outside of Poland in an English speaking country (Therefore language is not a problem).

I have a small dilemma however. In recent years I’ve developed an interest in Australia. I’m seriously considering moving to Australia and particularly have my sights set on either Sydney/Brisbane as the final destination, but I’m open to other cities too.

The “Problem” is: I’ll be graduating in 3 years and would like to specialize ASAP post. graduation. How should I go about specializing to minimize the time of studying + increase the likelihood of being able to work in Australia (i.e obtain full registration with the board, and be permitted to work in both public/private sector + be involved in academic teaching), if at all such a combination is possible? My current desired route is Internal Medicine -> Cardiology. Pulmonology is another interest, as well as Emergency Medicine. In Poland it is likely that I will be able to enter specialization immediately post graduation (As part of the new regulations- due to the fact that our internship year has now been integrated in our 6th year of studies) in my desired field.

Questions:
1. Taking my Australian citizenship into account:
1.1. If I decide to specialise in Australia, how difficult would it be for me to enter specialization immediately post. graduation?
1.2.How long would the entire process take (Will I also be subjected to 12 months of supervised practice prior to being permitted to specialize?)

2. If I were to specialize in Poland, how would the “Specialist Pathway-Specialist recognition” (Taking into account: If there are any discrepancies between the programs in both countries, I’d ATTEMPT to work up to the Australian requirements in Poland if possible e.g regarding nr. of procedures) appear in my situation with regards to:
2.1. Likelihood of being fully registered in Australia in said speciality
2.2. Length of time that registration may take (Is the 6-12 months of supervised training COMPULSORY if you rank well with the specialist society?)
2.3 Am I correct in saying that I’ll be exempt from the “moratorium” due to being an Aussie citizen?

3. Is there anything else I should keep in mind, in terms of what is appreciated by Australian authorities for full registration? e.g. USMLE score (Instead of AMC); grades at UNI; research; work experience (As is in my situation, I do electives in both 1st and 3rd world countries) etc?


Thank you for taking the time to read this ( and hopefully responding)! ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!

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[bashwell]

Hi everyone!

I’ve read this forum with great interest and have found a hefty amount of information in answer to a long list of questions I had. However, I find that I’m in a SLIGHTLY different situation from many posting here, and would appreciate some advice/ answers/confirmation to a couple of questions I have. If indeed someone in the same situation has already posted SOMEWHERE about this, I would highly appreciate a link to the thread!


(Apologies in advance for the upcoming essay)


Background:
Medical student currently studying in Poland who’s also an AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN (However, I’ve NEVER visited/lived in Australia). Additionally, I grew up outside of Poland in an English speaking country (Therefore language is not a problem).

I have a small dilemma however. In recent years I’ve developed an interest in Australia. I’m seriously considering moving to Australia and particularly have my sights set on either Sydney/Brisbane as the final destination, but I’m open to other cities too.

The “Problem” is: I’ll be graduating in 3 years and would like to specialize ASAP post. graduation. How should I go about specializing to minimize the time of studying + increase the likelihood of being able to work in Australia (i.e obtain full registration with the board, and be permitted to work in both public/private sector + be involved in academic teaching), if at all such a combination is possible? My current desired route is Internal Medicine -> Cardiology. Pulmonology is another interest, as well as Emergency Medicine. In Poland it is likely that I will be able to enter specialization immediately post graduation (As part of the new regulations- due to the fact that our internship year has now been integrated in our 6th year of studies) in my desired field.

Questions:
1. Taking my Australian citizenship into account:
1.1. If I decide to specialise in Australia, how difficult would it be for me to enter specialization immediately post. graduation?
1.2.How long would the entire process take (Will I also be subjected to 12 months of supervised practice prior to being permitted to specialize?)

2. If I were to specialize in Poland, how would the “Specialist Pathway-Specialist recognition” (Taking into account: If there are any discrepancies between the programs in both countries, I’d ATTEMPT to work up to the Australian requirements in Poland if possible e.g regarding nr. of procedures) appear in my situation with regards to:
2.1. Likelihood of being fully registered in Australia in said speciality
2.2. Length of time that registration may take (Is the 6-12 months of supervised training COMPULSORY if you rank well with the specialist society?)
2.3 Am I correct in saying that I’ll be exempt from the “moratorium” due to being an Aussie citizen?

3. Is there anything else I should keep in mind, in terms of what is appreciated by Australian authorities for full registration? e.g. USMLE score (Instead of AMC); grades at UNI; research; work experience (As is in my situation, I do electives in both 1st and 3rd world countries) etc?


Thank you for taking the time to read this ( and hopefully responding)! ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!

1.1 In Australia you don't specialise immediately after graduation from med school. Instead, you'd have to get an intern/RMO job first (which is a two year contract). Most specialty colleges require that you've at least completed your RMO year too before you can apply to become a trainee/registrar in their college. This includes emergency medicine. For internal medicine (aka physicians) you technically could be accepted starting PGY2, I believe, although BPT (basic physicians training) is also starting to become competitive in both Sydney and Brisbane's big hospitals (e.g. Royal Prince Alfred, Royal North Shore, St Vincent's, Royal Brisbane, PA). So you might have to start PGY3 as well unless you're happy to train outside the big hospitals. The competitive specialties usually won't even accept you until after you've done an SRMO year (PGY3) because that's what most applicants will have.

1.2 At a minimum, you'd need to do intern/RMO, then probably an extra SRMO/PGY3 year to be competitive to apply for a registrar position (again unless you're willing to move outside the big city hospitals). During this time you would have to be building your CV/resume such as by taking the appropriate classes, especially if you're applying for a competitive specialty, research always helps, even doing audits, doing a grad diploma or even a masters degree, again especially for competitive specialties, etc. Then it's another 5 years minimum once you become a registrar in EM or IM (including advanced trainee). Thus at the minimum you could finish in 7 years after medical school if you get in straightaway and progress without any issues or failing any exams, etc. But most take longer.

With exams there's no BPT primary exam but there is an exit exam prior to becoming an advanced trainee (I might be wrong but I think pass rate is around 50%?) and then you'd have to apply for cardiology or respiratory positions (which is about knowing people, research, etc). For EM, there is both a primary as well as fellowship exam and I've heard the fellowship exam last year had a pass rate of around 30%.

It doesn't end after becoming a consultant. You'd then have to apply for a staff specialist position. But for physicians it's virtually becoming a requirement to get a masters if not PhD to secure a staff specialist position in Sydney or Brisbane, and cardiology is oversupplied in both cities too. EM is likewise becoming oversupplied and most likely will be in 7 years' time in the capital cities.

I'll try to write more later as I've already written a lot and should go, but you can learn more about how migrating as a doctor from Poland to Australia here and about EM and physicians training by visiting their respective websites -- ACEM and RACP.