Stop exploitation of doctors from overseas
From : The Australian, April 3, 2010.
by Sue Douglas
WHEN most Australians think of doctors they think of a powerful and privileged group who make three to four times as much as the average bloke. It's not a group that engenders sympathy, or one you associate with exploitation.
The reality is, however, that international medical graduates are a vulnerable group that have been exploited by the government, abused by their own profession and ignored by the public.
Unlike doctors born in Australia, foreign-born doctors are restricted to where they can work, even if they attended medical school and did all their specialty training in Australia. Under section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act, all IMGs, regardless of country of training and citizenship, must work in a designated area of workforce shortage for 10 years. This is a significant chunk of a doctor's professional career.
Also, in Australia your ability to work is determined by your immigration status. You may no longer be able to work as a doctor if you decide to become a permanent resident or citizen. It's much easier to exploit the rights of temporary than permanent residents. If you complain it's easy to have your visa revoked.
In Australia your potential competitors judge your professional qualifications. Imagine going for a job interview where the interviewer was another applicant. Also imagine if that applicant was responsible for drafting the selection criteria upon which you were to be judged. In these circumstances it's next to impossible to have a fair and objective assessment of your qualifications.
In Australia if your rights are abused by one of the medical organisations you have no meaningful recourse to justice. Most are private member-based organisations and therefore exempt from statutory regulation. Imagine having no access to unions, ombudsmen or the judicial system. What recourse would you have in the face of injustice?
This is the reality for the thousands of IMGs who provide an invaluable service to this country. These problems don't just affect IMGs, they have a significant impact on Australia's medical workforce.
Legislation and the accreditation-registration system hinder the deployment of skilled IMGs. The glut of students coming through is not going to fix the problem in the present system because historically the vast majority of Australian doctors are not willing to work in rural areas.
The argument has been made that Section 19AB is necessary to ensure adequate medical services in rural and remote regions. Yes, Australia needs more doctors but does this justify the exploitation of a politically vulnerable group?
So what's the solution? Many countries have a compulsory period of medical service for their new doctors in underserviced areas and-or for disadvantaged populations. We could devise a system in Australia where all new doctors -- regardless of nationality or country of training -- need to work for a specified period of time in a rural community.
Similarly, all IMGs coming into the country would need to provide the same service. In this way the workload is shared more equitably and across a much larger population.
Section 19AB is an affront to human rights and the government must review this discriminatory piece of legislation.
Let's finally take action to ensure that the thousands of IMGs who provide an essential service to this country are finally given a fair go.
Critique : This article talks about new doctors - medical graduates - are being exploited by some countries including Australia themselves. It has been said that new doctors are to work in a designated area of workforce even after they finish their medical studies. However, having as many doctors in the country, it is said that they are not providing the services to the rural areas. I understand the meaning that rural areas are filled in by maybe not the most wealthiest of people, but the Australian government should contemplate something so that the citizens in Australia is treated equally. Well, they have the suggested solution mentioned above, and i hope that the Australian government will consider.
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