Solution Needed for Doctor Shortage in Rural Areas

More Information About Doctor Shortages

Many towns and small communities across the country are experiencing shortages. Local medicos are often overworked and cannot find new permanent staff as many younger doctors are reluctant to relocate to rural areas. The current influx of migrants coming into Australia are preferring to stay in the capital cities, because they find the move easier.

-The gaps in medical staffing are increasingly being filled by locum or short term doctor replacements said Dr David Campbell, the Director of Skilled Medical Pty Ltd, a firm that supplies locum and permanent doctors across Australia.-But even the number of doctors prepared to do locum work is limited and locum firms sometime have difficulty covering all the positions required said Dr Campbell. Medical locums are temporary medical jobs offered to fill gaps while permanent staff are away or until suitable replacements can be found.

Several factors are impacting upon the supply of doctors in rural areas:
  • The medical workforce is ageing and many doctors are rapidly approaching retirement age or wish to cut back on their work commitments
  • There are fewer doctors wishing to relocate permanently to the country where they may see career and lifestyle opportunities as more limited.
  • A majority of medical graduates are now female and due to family and personal factors female doctors are less likely to work the hours that their male counterparts previously tolerated.
  • For over a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s there were insufficient new doctors graduating in Australia.
  • A previous source of doctors " International Medical Graduates " is drying up as registration becomes more difficult and overseas demand for doctors increases
Various government and educational agencies in Australia are working hard to address these factors, for instance, by increasing the number of medical graduates and supporting the vocational training of rural General Practitioners. These strategies however will take time and the amount of rural doctors jobs remaining vacant will probably increase still, before the figure reduces. Other incentives are being discussed to encourage more doctors to practice in rural Australia.

In the meantime, rural health services are working hard to make rural practice more attractive. Doctors will remain in great demand in rural towns and communities across Australia and those that do make the decision to go bush either for short or longer periods are usually very pleased with their choice. There is often more personal contact with patients, cheaper living costs and a higher sense of being a valued member of a community.

It has become easier for doctors to find rural medical jobs due to websites that exist which are focused solely on medical recruitment, as well as larger online employment sites. They are all seeing an increase in rural and provincial jobs becoming available, all around the country.

Dr David Campbell

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