AMA (NSW) President: Hospital shooting demonstrates dangers faced by health workers
January 13, 2016AMA (NSW) President welcomes hospital security audit
January 22, 2016The AMA (NSW) / ASMOF (NSW) Alliance is today welcoming nearly 1,000 new doctors to the State’s health system.
Dr Danielle McMullen, the Chair of the Doctors-in-Training Committee, says this year’s group of interns is another record-breaker.
“Today is the beginning of Orientation Week (or O Week) at NSW hospitals, the first day on the job for 983 new doctors.
“It’s a good thing that this is another record cohort, as it will help NSW solve its doctor shortage and help the system cope with massive demands in healthcare.
“However, ensuring the training pathway for these new interns is clear for them to attain their specialty or GP training is still the biggest issue facing junior doctors,” Dr McMullen said.
“A doctor’s medical training does not begin and end at university.
“We continue our training throughout our careers and the interns have two major bottlenecks and many years ahead of them before they are the specialists and GPs we need.
“Governments, both State and Federal, need to work together to ensure that adequate training places are available to make sure all interns can complete this on-the-job training,” Dr McMullen said.
“As much as I want to talk up the positives today, interns, along with residents and registrars, can be made vulnerable by their lack of seniority.
“The AMA (NSW) / ASMOF (NSW) Alliance is working to improve conditions for doctors-in-training at NSW hospitals.
“It’s important to ensure sound industrial protection for junior doctors, and that’s why ASMOF has prioritised renegotiating and improving the doctors-in-training Award,” Dr McMullen said.
“There has been a lot of talk over the last year about the culture of medicine, bullying and sexual harassment.
“The truth is that there can be challenges in medicine even though it is, as a whole, a wonderful, rewarding job that encourages co-operation.
“I want the interns of 2016 to know that there is help available if you find yourself being bullied or harassed and that with all the focus on the issue, access to that help is going to get easier.
“Groups like the AMA, ASMOF, the Government, the medical colleges, and individual hospitals are working to change things for the better,” Dr McMullen said.
Media contact: Lachlan Jones (02) 9902 8113 / 0419 402 955