US doctor moving to Australia

[DomDom]

Hey guys I have a few questions to ask, the situation is a bit different since im from the EU but I guess it should be similar enough.

Currently im a 3rd yr radiology resident in Croatia, my goal is to get registered in Au/Nz so I can practice teleradiology and a locum here and there. My motivation is money/lifestyle (lower life costs in Croatia, can work from anywhere).

From what I understood when Im a specialist Id have to go through the Specialist pathway (get some type of work visa or permanent residency), work under supervision for 2 years or so and pass the 2nd part of the specialist exam.
Afzer getting registered I wont be able to get paid for 10 yrs unless I work in specific geographical areas of need?

Whats the best way to go about this? I was thinking about working in Aus and getting registered as a specialist and then going back home and getting registered and doing teleradiology for NZ and perhaps remote places in Aus (dont know if its possible to get work from only these areas because of the moratorium?) until the moratorium is over.

Id probably get registered in the UK and Ireland as well just so i have more sources of work.

How plausible and worthwhile is this considering getting registered in the UK/Ireland is pretty simple and short for me? Do you guys perhaps know where I can find more information about teleradiology like this? The information online is pretty scarce and the companies that provide these services arent very open.

Thank you for your time reading my post

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[braineddetermined]

Hey guys I have a few questions to ask, the situation is a bit different since im from the EU but I guess it should be similar enough.

Currently im a 3rd yr radiology resident in Croatia, my goal is to get registered in Au/Nz so I can practice teleradiology and a locum here and there. My motivation is money/lifestyle (lower life costs in Croatia, can work from anywhere).

From what I understood when Im a specialist Id have to go through the Specialist pathway (get some type of work visa or permanent residency), work under supervision for 2 years or so and pass the 2nd part of the specialist exam.
Afzer getting registered I wont be able to get paid for 10 yrs unless I work in specific geographical areas of need?

Whats the best way to go about this? I was thinking about working in Aus and getting registered as a specialist and then going back home and getting registered and doing teleradiology for NZ and perhaps remote places in Aus (dont know if its possible to get work from only these areas because of the moratorium?) until the moratorium is over.

Id probably get registered in the UK and Ireland as well just so i have more sources of work.

How plausible and worthwhile is this considering getting registered in the UK/Ireland is pretty simple and short for me? Do you guys perhaps know where I can find more information about teleradiology like this? The information online is pretty scarce and the companies that provide these services arent very open.

Thank you for your time reading my post

I think it will be easier to go with the UK route.
But, it’s very doable if you want to go to NZ, they’re very flexible with the foreign graduates unlike Aus.
You’ll also have better options if you’re already a specialist in your home country.

 

[DomDom]

Thanks for the info.

Is it easy to get registered in Aus when youre registered as a specialist in NZ? Radiology has the same governing college for both countries ( RANZCR )
Id register in Aus and just wait out the 10 yr period sp I can work in both

 

[BigPikachu]

Hey guys I have a few questions to ask, the situation is a bit different since im from the EU but I guess it should be similar enough.

Currently im a 3rd yr radiology resident in Croatia, my goal is to get registered in Au/Nz so I can practice teleradiology and a locum here and there. My motivation is money/lifestyle (lower life costs in Croatia, can work from anywhere).

From what I understood when Im a specialist Id have to go through the Specialist pathway (get some type of work visa or permanent residency), work under supervision for 2 years or so and pass the 2nd part of the specialist exam.
Afzer getting registered I wont be able to get paid for 10 yrs unless I work in specific geographical areas of need?

Whats the best way to go about this? I was thinking about working in Aus and getting registered as a specialist and then going back home and getting registered and doing teleradiology for NZ and perhaps remote places in Aus (dont know if its possible to get work from only these areas because of the moratorium?) until the moratorium is over.

Id probably get registered in the UK and Ireland as well just so i have more sources of work.

How plausible and worthwhile is this considering getting registered in the UK/Ireland is pretty simple and short for me? Do you guys perhaps know where I can find more information about teleradiology like this? The information online is pretty scarce and the companies that provide these services arent very open.

Thank you for your time reading my post

Your summary is essentially correct.

Assuming you successfully complete your Radiologist Specialty Training in your home country, you may then apply to AHPRA & AMC & RANZCR via the IMG Specialist Pathway. However as you mentioned, because the RANZCR is unlikely to view your specialist qualification from Croatia as equivalent to the Australian or New Zealand specialist training standards, you'll be granted only Limited Registration for a few years where you practice under supervision in teaching hospitals as a Registrar, and then have to sit the RANZCR exit exams in order to gain Fellowship and then Specialist Registration.

As you correctly said, even once you're recognised as a Specialist in Australia, because you're an IMG, the Government requires you to practice in an 'area-of-need' for at least 10 years if you wish to access Medicare billings for patients in private practice or be employed as a Staff Specialist or Visiting Specialist. If you decide not to practice in an 'area-of-need' you therefore have to wait 10 years to elapse and instead practice as a Senior Registrar or Fellow as a salaried employee in a public state hospital with no priveleges for admissions and private billings.

My understanding is that some people find it 'easier' or 'faster' to gain a recognised qualification via the RCR (that is, the UK equivalent to the RANZCR), and consequently go onto using the RCR qualification to be made equvilent to the RANZCR one without having to jump through the hoops of repeating supervised practice and re-sitting exit exams. This is because, unlike Croatia, most UK specialist qualifications are reciprocally recognised by their Australian counterparts and vice versa.

Perhaps one of our Aussie Radiologist members @txm88 can clarify this? I think we do have one who comes on the forum occasionally.

 

[DomDom]

Thank you very much for the information guys, you helped tremendously.

I think Ill do the RCR route aswell and then try to register for both Aus/Nz.

Does anybody know a teleradiologist?

 

[txm88]

Hi everyone.

Specialist pathway is case-by-case basis and a few messages on SDN cannot determine your chances unfortunately.

You see people from third world countries get Australian fellowship relatively easily (like myself - bit of luck involved too), yet there are also high profile cases of UK trained (FRCS +CCT) consultants struggling to get recognition (mostly due to bureaucracy though!)

That being said, you are currently still in a training program and not a consultant yet so your chances of successfully coming to Australia via the specialist pathway anytime soon is not great. The specialist pathway not only considers your qualifications, but work experience too. Ideally, colleges are looking that you have at least 5-10 years of consultant experience under your belt, but again, it is not a rule/eligibility criteria and the pathway is determined case-by-case.

I'm not sure how the EU mutual recognition of specialists works for you (whether you can get an instant CCT and work as a consultant in the NHS immediately after finishing Croatian training). Especially with this Brexit stuff going on (not an expert on this). If you are able to, I would assume that working at a consultant level in a 'competent authority' (AMC lingo) health system like the NHS will make your application more appealing to the AMC/RANZCR

Doing the FRCR is the best way of showing to RANZCR that you have the knowledge of an Australian FRANZCR (both exams are similar in depth), and is a good start, but is no means a free-ticket to passing the assessment or being exempt from additional training and the RANZCR fellowship exams (you MAY still have to do them - part 2 only most likely).

You will still have to work for 1-2 years a registrar equivalent and do the part 2 even after FRCR. But again, people can pass the assessment without FRCR. At the end of the day, AMC does not give a list of 'prescribed qualifications' that will instantly make you pass the assessment. Therefore do the FRCR for professional development and other reasons, not only because it MIGHT give you an increased chance of success in specialist pathway (you might be disappointed later)

So in conclusion, 1) finish your training, 2) work as a consultant in the UK (allowed under law +/- if it is feasible for you personally), 3) do the FRCR and 4) get some consultant under your belt before applying. Anecdotally, these are the steps to getting substantially or partially comparable, but as you may know Australia is making it harder for IMGs to come year after year, with constantly changing requirements, a tougher IMG job market even for specialist pathway IMG consultants, and visa/PR requirements.

The specialist pathway is very anxiety provoking - you need to submit hundreds of pages of qualification, experience, case logs, other CV things and it is very very expensive with hurdles all the way. Best of luck.

 

[DomDom]

Ah I see, thats the route I was expecting at the start.

I see you are a member of both the FRCR and FRANZCR, what was your path like if may I ask? How long were you a consultant in the UK before applying? Was the whole process worth it ?

Do you know anybody in the teleradiology field and what are their experiences ?

As always thanks alot for the info, your answers help alot !

 

[txm88]

I am not british trained and did not qualify as a doctor (MBBS) or consultant (CCT) there

I passed the FRCR after working as a consultant in my home country, then finally moved to Australia about 2 years later. After passing specialist pathway I worked as a Registrar in rural AU and completed the FRANZCR part 2 before obtaining fellowship. The whole process from migration to consultant was about 4 year for me - it can Be way shorter or way longer than this (many factors come into play)

I am not knowledgeable about teleradiology sorry but I imagine that you would still need FRANZCR/specialist registration to do it

 

[zaro]

Hi,
I am a 3rd year US medical student considering to move to Australia. I have 2 questions: what is the the realistic timeframe in order to get into general surgery residency post internship? Once I finish my GS residency in Australia, can I practice say cardiothoracic surgery in Australia if I finish my cardiothoracic fellowship in the US and return back to Au? As a follow up, will it take shorter if I finish GS and CT trainings in the US and then move to AU plus supervised training, moratorium etc? Thank you in advance.

 

[charmanderx]

Australian med student here, so I may not be fully informed but to my understanding:

1. realistic time frame for admittance to any surgery specialty in Australia is anywhere from 6-10 years... (if successful) You would also have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to even apply for a training position in Austalia.
2. Overseas fellowships in subspecialty fields are common, so in theory I would assume you could. However in Australia, Cardiothoracic surgery is it's own specialty with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. So I don't know what the political situation would be in trying to work in cardiothoracic surgery as a general surgeon
3. It would absolutely be shorter to do surgical training in the US because if you match, you can start training immediately after med school. As for the process of getting the training recognised in Australia (supervised training etc.) unfortunately I'm unsure how long that takes

Out of curiosity, why are you interested in moving to Australia?