Crossing the Tasman - NZ doctors locuming in Australia - what you need to know (Part 1)

Posted by Beat Medical

Sure, we don't have the All Blacks, or Keas, or as many glaciers as you - but we do have some fantastic locum work, paying loads, in interesting places. Before you quit your job, sell the house, divorce the wife (or husband), there are a few things you need to know about working in Australia.

Beat Medical are a medical recruitment and locum agency based in Wollongong, Australia.

Every year, we have a steady stream of doctors from NZ doing locum work in Australia, and other locations in the region. Some come for the pay, others for the climate, and some for exposure to clinical work that they may not be able to access at home.

With the introduction of national Aussie medical registration 2010, it is now easier for NZ locums to work across Australia.

Generally, much of the locum work is outside of capital cities - as that is where the need tends to be. Pay ranges from around $1500 per day for GPs to between $2500-$3000 per day for physicians, anaesthetists, emergency docs, surgeons, and other specialties. More often than not, employers will cover return flights from NZ, as well as accommodation and a vehicle.

Before you book work, there are a few things you need to do. 

1. The first is to confirm your right to work. You need to hold NZ or Australian Citizenship, or a valid Australian visa in order to work here. NZ permanent residents do not have the right to work in Australia. 

2. The second step is applying for mutual recognition of medical registration. This is where it gets a little more complex. There are essentially two categories of medical registration you can apply for. The first is General, the second is Specialist. 

To be eligible for general registration, you need to have full registration in NZ. This category only enables you to work in a general, non-specialist position here. 

To apply for specialist registration, you must hold a medical speciality recognised in Australia or NZ. 

For those holding a speciality which has a joint Australian/NZ College (such as ACEM), you can apply directly to AHPRA, the Australian Medical Registration body. 

If you hold a speciality with a college which is solely NZ based (such as RNZCGP), you’re going to have to apply to the equivalent Australian college for recognition (i.e. the RACGP) via the Australian Medical Council (which is an intermediary body that forwards your application to the college). The AMC does not deal with medical registration, and is NOT the equivalent of the NZMC.

Have a look at this flowchart for a breakdown of the process*

This may sound ridiculous, and complex  - and honestly, in some ways it is. Beat Medical can help you through the process, from start to finish. Although the process is bureaucratic, we’re the experts at making it go as painlessly as possible. With current locum possibilities and rates in Australia, it’s well worth it.

The next part of this series will focus on the how - what you need to do to get registered in Australia ASAP. 

In the meantime, if you are an NZ doctor interested in working in Australia, call us on +61 2 5454 1004 (we can call you right back) or email recruitment@beatmedical.com to talk about your options.

*Big fat waiver - The timeframes we have suggested for each state of the process are indicative only. Dealing with government organisations, we can sometimes only guess what the timeframe will be. Sometimes it will be more, sometimes less. The key message is: don't sell the farm until your registration is approved!

Stretching our wings with job listings on Twitter

Posted by Beat Medical

Beat Medical Twitter page for job vacancies

The medical locum industry is fast moving, and an easy way to keep up to date with current locum job vacancies is to follow us on Twitter.

We now have a dedicated job listings channel on twitter at twitter.com/beatmedicaljobs. Here, you can receive real-time updates of current locum jobs in emergency, surgery, anaesthetics, ICU, and general practice.

You can also follow our general twitter page at twitter.com/beatmedical, for the latest news in medical recruitment.

Not sure how to use Twitter, or don't have an account yet? It couldn't be easier - simply navigate here to sign up. Mobile and iPhone users will find a host of Twitter apps online and in the Apple app store.

Living tropical - an alternative lifestyle as a GP

Posted by Beat Medical

There are so many options for where to live and work as a doctor in Australia that it can be a bit of an overwhelming choice.

As an overseas trained general practitioner, you are generally restricted to working in a regional or rural area of Australia. Although this might mean being some distance from a capital city like Sydney or Melbourne, it opens the door to a much higher quality of living.

In this article, I am going to focus on Townsville - which is in Queensland. Although there are some similar cities around Australia, Townsville has the enviable quality of having over 300 days of sunshine in the year, and is directly across from Magnetic Island, one of the most spectacular natural retreats in Australia.

Being in a regional area doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice education and lifestyle- with the best in public and private schools, a large international university (which has an excellent medical school and world-class school of tropical medicine), amazing sporting facilities, and easy childcare it is truly the best of both worlds. If you do need a fix of the 'big city', there are regular flights to Brisbane and Sydney, as well as flights north to Cairns which go onward to Bali and beyond.

In comparison to the larger cities, drive time to work is a maximum of 30 minutes (the more common average being 5-15 minutes), crime rates are relatively low, and you get a sense of being part of a community. The best part is you can enjoy your time away from work with proximity to the coastline (within sailing distance of the Great Barrier Reef), and myriad sporting and recreational facilities.

If you don't enjoy warm weather, and a relaxed lifestyle, Townsville is most likely not for you. Otherwise, consider going tropical!


At the moment, we have a number of GP positions available in a rapidly growing area of Townsville.

Down the rabbit hole - the curiousness of health services

Posted by Beat Medical

If you have experience in healthcare at any level - a clinician, manager, cleaner, administrator, window washer - you were most likely nodding in agreement with this fantastically written piece in today's Age.

As a medical recruiter, and (I am a little embarrassed to admit it) former health service manager, I can see some palpable parallels between working with the health system, and the absurd (but all to familiar?)  characters in Alice in Wonderland.

It must have taken a Mad Hatter to design the current system for working as a locum in one Australian state (....to remain nameless). Not only are locum doctors expected to read over 450 pages of policies, and complete hours worth of online learning - they are encumbered by their current employer's consent to work as locums in areas of critical medical workforce shortage. It's also not a walk in the park for the the front line rostering people, who are restricted in terms of how much they can pay locum doctors in accordance with arbitrary geographical zones (which seem as though they were decided upon at a health department tea party). Here is the crux - the people making these decisions, however well meaning, are often at a critically dangerous distance from the reality of health care 'in the trenches'.

What is the point of these polices? To provide better health care, of course.  I've noticed how well it has worked - have you? Well, maybe not.

The aim is, of course, cost reduction. There is a Queen of Hearts in every health service, exacting sharp fiscal control on areas she may or may not have any understanding of, and proclaiming "Off with their heads" at the slightest hint of dissent or creative thought. New health service managers are often given no training, no expectations, no targets to meet, except "reduce the budget".  When I started in a hospital, I felt like Alice, tumbling down a hole to who-only-knows-where, as there is only one way to reduce the budget - to reduce medical staffing. Trying to explain to a high level administrator that it is less expensive to pay our own staff slightly more to work unpopular shifts, than it is to bring in hundreds of expensive outside locums of questionable quality and skills was almost like putting my head through a wall.

More dangerous than the Queen of course, is the Cheshire Cat, the duplicitous sycophant whose sharp teeth are covered by a flurry of nonsensical and vexing arguments. These people are the worst enemy of medical recruitment - swiping away any attempt to boost staffing numbers, citing an endless array of policies, precedents, and alluding to the opinions of a distant CEO who is always at arms length. Here is a common scenario - we need a new emergency specialist. Can we advertise? "No, too expensive". Can we attend a conference to attract potential candidates "No, too expensive. Perhaps try a sandwich board in front of the train station". In their heart of hearts, they know it is less expensive to keep a position vacant than it is to fill it.

I can't help but think that we are compelled to reject the reality presented to us by the looking glass - now is the time to agitate, question the system, and find your way out of the rabbit hole. What do you think we can do to change the system? Is it too late to turn it around?

Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.
Alice: And how do you know that you're mad?
The Cat: To begin with, a dog's not mad. You grant that?
Alice: I suppose so,
The Cat: Well, then, you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad.

Working in Australia as a UK trained GP

Posted by Beat Medical

Working in Australia as a UK trained general practitioner is even easier now with the new RACGP specialist pathway into general practice. In short, as a MRCGP, you can apply for ad eundem fellowship of the Australian college. In most cases, after a twelve month mentoring period, you will be a full fellow of the college.

The Australian Medical Council is responsible for the initial assessment and documentation process to get started as a GP in Australia. There are a number of documents which will need to be provided, as well as a verification process for your academic qualifications. When you start, your head will most likely be swimming with forms and regulations, so it is a good idea to get in contact with a medical recruitment agency to discuss your options. A good recruitment agent can manage the entire application process on your behalf, so you can concentrate on the where and when of starting your new job.

About working conditions in Australia

Working in Australia as a Canadian trained Family Physician

Posted by Beat Medical

Australia and Canada have many things in common - very large land mass, ethnically diverse population, and of course the English language (in our own unique forms!). The 2006 Australian census recorded over 27,000 Canadian-born people in Australia.

As a Canadian trained family physician seeking a general practitioner job in Australia, the options for you to consider in terms of location, work, and lifestyle are incredibly diverse.

We recommend looking through the Lonely Planet Australia guide for more information on Australia as a destination - and don't despair - we have ample supplies of maple syrup and Canadian products here.

About college membership and professional registration

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners recognises Canadian trained family physicians as being fully comparable to the Australian-trained equivalent, provided you hold the Certificate in Family Medicine from College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and evidence of Canadian Qualifying Examinations Part 1 + 2 post 1992.

To initiate the professional recognition process, the Australian Medical Council (AMC) website is the first place to visit. The AMC processes applications from all international medical graduates, however does not grant medical registration. In Australia, medical registration is governed at the State (province) level - as such, each state/territory has its own medical board.

As a Canadian graduate, there are several options for medical registration - the recommended approach is the Specialist Pathway. This pathway allows for you to work unsupervised as a general practitioner in many areas of Australia.

There are some restrictions as to location for overseas trained doctors, for example you will most likely not be permitted to work in a major metropolitan area - however will be eligible to work in many fantastic regional and rural areas of Australia.

You will need to provide the AMC with:

• Evidence of English language proficiency (if English is not your first language, you will need to show English competency by by Completing the IELTS examination -with a minimum score of 7 in each element), or the alternative Occupational English Test.
• Evidence of current medical registration in your jurisdiction
• Verification of medical qualifications

About working conditions in Australia

All Australian citizens and most permanent residents are covered by the Medicare system, a taxpayer funded public healthcare program.

• General practitioners bill per consultation on a “fee for service” basis, and many bill according to the fee set by the government (this is called “Bulk Billing”). However, GPs are permitted to charge above the mandated rate - with their patients responsible for the gap payment.
• GP/Family Physician salaries in Australia range between 50-75% of their billings, and it is usually paid to you as an independent contractor. There are some arrangements where you are a retained employee of the clinic on a fixed salary.
• The actual annual income ranges from location to location, but a good guide would be between AUD $150,000 and $300,000 per annum.
• As an contractor, you will be responsible for your own annual leave (vacation time), which is generally four weeks per year, taxation, and superannuation (retirement fund). The practice you work with will often assist you with these consideration, as well as managing the administrative aspects of the medical clinic.
• The working hours for a general practitioner are between eight and twelve hours per day, three to five days per week. You may be on call after hours, or on weekends in turn with other doctors in the practice.
• As a general practitioner, you may also have the opportunity to provide services to local hospitals in specialist areas such as anaesthetics, obstetrics and gynaecology. This will depend on your skills, experience, and qualifications.

About getting started

There is no particular time of year that is best to start a GP position in Australia. There are generally positions available in a number of places at any one time, and you will find that you have a good selection of locations and jobs.

We advertise general practitioner vacancies on our website, but encourage you to contact us as we do not advertise all positions. After registering on our website, we will be in contact within 24 hours to discuss your needs, and get the process started.
 

What we do for you

First things first - all of our services are free to you. We take an all-encompassing approach to help you move seamlessly from
your current role to a new one in Australia. We will start with an initial consultation (about an hour)  to discuss your individual requirements, and give you a briefing on the process ahead of you, particularly:

• Location preferences - (what type of lifestyle do you want?)
• Ideal position
• Remuneration requirements
• Your family situation
• Length of stay

Depending on your individual needs and those of your employer, we can work with you to manage:

• Identifying employment options
• Specialist college recognition
• Relocation
• Resume and interview training
• Airport meet and greet
• Working visas
• Medical registration
• Contract and salary negotiation

Why work with a recruitment agency?

There are many reasons to work with professional recruiters - but here are a few reasons not to take the do-it-yourself approach to finding a position from some of our candidates:

• I wish I knew where to start looking for positions
• If only I hadn’t taken the first job I saw
• There was so much paperwork and time involved with the Australian Medical Council, speciality colleges, medical boards, immigration, and Medicare. I wish somebody was there to help me along the way.
• The town I liked looked good in the photos, but when I got there it was nothing like they [employer] told me
• I wish I had more than the couple of job options I saw in the ads
• I thought the package I was offered was excellent - until I found out what everyone else was on!
• My resume was not consistent with what is expected in Australia - I had no idea
• I felt pressured to take the contract the employer was offering
• I didn’t understand the complexities around specialist recognition, and gaining medical registration. Lesson learnt!