Bias

[Guest redshifteffect]

I have made a couple of posts about living conditions and practicing as a doctor in Australia.

 

I have gotten a couple of emails along the lines of "it's too good to be true, why doesn't everyone work in Australia"

 

So I thought I would explain these postings:

 

1) Most people don't bother to research work opportunities in Australia - why would they? They are happy practicing in their own place and the hassle of moving to another country and starting at the bottom isn't appealing to most people

 

2) Australia has both a private and public health system. So while the fact that docs do make more money than in Canada seems absurd, it isn't. You can charge your patients whatever you want, and the gov't doesn't cap your salary. The living costs of both countries (Canada and Australia) are both similar and in the end the taxes are the same (high). Also I have researched this very extensively for the last two years, both through personal contact with various GPs, Surgeons etc. not only here but in Canada so I am not simply posting random garbage - I only post things which I am 100% sure about and I can confirm. There are two docs here that I know of that are working with a temporary license both are Canadians, one graduate from the US and the other from Canada. Their biggest complaints about both countries was the workload - they told me they were both very stressed at their jobs.

 

3) While I have posted the pathway to staying in Australia - this is not very easy. You have to be clever about a couple of things to stay. 1) Do your degree in a rural setting. This gives you an extra 5 pts for immigration which is VERY handy. This also allows you to apply for that state when you are doing immigration, which is under a special category and increases your odds of staying. 2) Make some good contacts with docs. You will need them for internships and residencies. 3) Be open to moving. NZ has a critcal shortage of docs at the moment, so be open to moving there. They will gladly recognize your aussie degree and you might be able to get a PR much more easily. You can attempt to do your residency training there. 4) If you don't have a degree already get ONE! - This could be done in two ways - a degree/diploma from a Canadian institution or one from an Aussie one. I recommend doing a medicine degree with a another degree (ie double degree, as this will save you time) however you could potentially do one here first and then do your med school. This extra degree will help when you are trying to apply for a PR. Also any aussie degree you do will be highly valued when it comes time for getting ur PR so that is another reason you should do a double degree or get a degree from here.

 

4) Be prepared to get rid of your snow pants/winter jackets

 

I'm not saying this is the easiest path in the world. But for ppl. like me who would prefer "safer" routes this is honestly the best way I have found. It allows you the flexibility of being able to do a specialty you may be interested in as well as the ability to be licensed to work in Australia. Your ability to return to Canada are increased 100 fold...almost to the point where you will definately get in (esp. under current rules).

 

Keep in mind though that Australian residencies are VERY VERY LONG. They are much longer than Canadian and American ones! Also, there is competition so you may again not get the residency you want. But for me that's okay because had I stayed in Canada and graduated from their med schools I would be competiting for the same spots among my fellow grads. The only difference is that you get the FIRST pick in Australia (ie you aren't treated like an FMG). So you will still have to work hard to get that Derm spot, but it's definately possible.

 

Finally face this fact - after 10+ years of training (depending on your residency) you may never want to return. I'm not saying this because you will like Australia (though that's very possible) but because you will have to write more exams in Canada and spend more time in rural areas. After so many years of training, will you really want to start again, or just keep on going with your new life? That I will leave up to you.

 

Good luck to all of you.