Residency In Australia As Can Or Us Student!!!

[mdphddermo]

RESIDENCY IN AUSTRALIA AS CAN OR US STUDENT!

Please post your experiences or knowledge of applying to residency positions IN AUSTRALIA AS a Canadian OR US student!

please a few of us need this information desperately

thanks

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[burachan83]

Forgive me for any errors because I haven't gone through the process in Australia myself, but I spent several months in Australian medical school and did extensive research on the Australian system so I have a little bit of knowledge.

Australia has a different system from North America in that you do not enter residency directly after medical school through a match. In fact, it's not even called residency...the residency equivalent is called "specalist training".

To familarize yourself with the Australian system, please read the following:

Medical eduation in Australia (Wikipedia Entry)
Training of medical practitioners in Australia

Anyway, the barrier for you as a Canadian student graduating from an Australian medical school is GETTING AN INTERN SPOT. Australian citizens are given first priority in getting the intern positions after medical school and if there's none left for you then you are out of luck. However, if you can get an intern spot, then after working as an intern for a year I believe you can be sponsored by the hospital or something for permanent residence.

After getting permanent residence status, you are now equivalent to an Australian citizen (aside from that 10 year moratorium thing which sucks) and so you can continue on as an RMO and then later pursue specialist training.

 

[PeterJH]

So if you manage to obtain an internship and the hosiptal then sponsors you for PR, you will be ranked at the same level as Aussie citizens in regards to getting specialist training?

 

[burachan83]

So if you manage to obtain an internship and the hosiptal then sponsors you for PR, you will be ranked at the same level as Aussie citizens in regards to getting specialist training?

Yes, I believe so. Aside from the 10-year moratorium thing which may bar you from certain hospitals that are not in those "districts of workforce shortage" or "areas of need". Permanent residents and citizens are treated as equals.

 

[PeterJH]

The 10-year thing I know is for the Medicare program, but if you are doing specialist training, wouldn't the medicare be covered by the hospital and not by you? I would have thought the 10-year moratorium simply bans us from private practise for 10 years...am I incorrect?!?

 

[burachan83]

The 10-year thing I know is for the Medicare program, but if you are doing specialist training, wouldn't the medicare be covered by the hospital and not by you? I would have thought the 10-year moratorium simply bans us from private practise for 10 years...am I incorrect?!?

Hmm...interesting, I was not aware of that. Maybe that's right. It would certainly explain why some people in Australia had given me anecdotal cases of international students who went to Australia for med school and then later were able to work in hospitals smack in the big Aussie cities like Sydney and Brisbane. Maybe someone with more knowledge on this moratorium thing can shed some light on this?

 

[driedcaribou]

Hmm...interesting, I was not aware of that. Maybe that's right. It would certainly explain why some people in Australia had given me anecdotal cases of international students who went to Australia for med school and then later were able to work in hospitals smack in the big Aussie cities like Sydney and Brisbane. Maybe someone with more knowledge on this moratorium thing can shed some light on this?

Regarding the following:
'f you are an Overseas Trained Doctor, or a former overseas medical student, and were not registered as a medical practitioner in Australia, or had not applied to sit the AMC exams on or before 1/1/97 you may be subject to a 10 year moratorium on provider numbers. This means that you, and your patients, are not able to access Medicare benefits for ten years from when you were first recognised as a medical practitioner in Australia (if you were registered between 1/1/97 and 18/10/01) or from when permanent residency was granted.'

http://www.nswrdn.com.au/index.cfm?display=1425#13

I thought that it meant if you register in Australia as a medical practitioner after your intern year and can sucessfully apply for a PR you won't be subject to the moratorium.
If you were a medical student here and went overseas to train and tried to come back to Australia, then you would be subject to the moratorium...

hmm...

Will have to ask about this.

Thanks for bringing this up.

 

[moondance26]

I thought that it meant if you register in Australia as a medical practitioner after your intern year and can sucessfully apply for a PR you won't be subject to the moratorium.

nope, you are still subject to the moratorium, even if you have PR. you get full registration after your intern year, but not a full provider number. you get a number that allows you to order tests and make referrals, but this is not a number that allows you to access medicare benefits. on top of that, you still need a prescriber number, that will allow you to prescribe medications outside the public hospital system