once international students complete their internship, what happens next?

[adrianus]

Hello,

I have questions that surfaced after talking with several students in Aussie, and reading regulations in AMC websites.

I understand that for international students taking Medicine in Australia,who enrol without Aussie PR status, we are not guaranteed internship. But I am still not sure about how the regulations affect us after we finish internship, get an MBBS, and eventually obtain an Australian PR status.

1.) I heard that international students who finished internship and obtained PR are usually going to rural areas. Is there a formal restriction that explicitly restrict us to practice in District of Workforce Shortage (rural) areas? Or do they go there just because the competition in metropolitan centres are keen? Is there a formal regulation that puts international students in lower priority for registrar positions in metropolitan centres, even after we get a PR? I understand that international students are on third last priority when applying for internship, but does such situation also apply when we compete for specialist training posts / registrar, even after we get a PR?

Having travelled to two rural centres in Aussie, I do think specialist training in metropolitan areas provide more comprehensive exposure...

2.) I understand that when international students finish internship and then obtain PR, we are still subjected to 10-year moratorium that restricts provision of Medicare Provider Number-- i.e., we could not get Medicare Provider Number except we choose to go to District of Workforce Shortage.

Does it disadvantage our specialist training in public hospitals if we do not have a Medicare Provider Number? And how far does the moratorium limit our choice of specialist training in metropolitan centres? I know that some specialty, like GP, needs provider number so international students doing GP are 'forced' to train in rural areas, while other specialty like pathology doesn't really need provider number.

Thank you for your information!

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[redshifteffect]

1. No there isn't a formal restriction forcing you to go to a rural area once you get a PR, unless you are doing General Practice. Under this scheme you must work in an area of Zone 3 or greater (under the old RRMA system). With any other speciality you can work anywhere provided it's part of your training

For speciality training I think you're right, you are better off in a metropolitan area, however for GP you will get much better training in a rural area.

2. You will get a medicare provider number if you work in a public hospital. The moratorium has no effect on your choice of speciality or specialist training in a metropolitan centre. Pathology is one of the few exceptions that even allows you to do all of your training in a private centre in a metro area since you do not require your own provider number, and can use someone elses. Also you are allowed to do rotations in private hospitals in large metros as long as it's part of your rotation within the public hospital system. So for example there have been a few radiologists who have done 1-2 years in a private setting who were under the 10 year moratorium, because it was part of their training (in the public hospital).