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Help Wanted! Towards a National Database of Training and Career Opportunities for Trainees in General Internal Medicine
A number of advanced trainees have expressed their frustration at not knowing which hospitals out there are able to offer attractive training opportunities in GIM, especially in regards to subspecialty exposure. “I want to go to another hospital where I can get some hands-on training in doing this or that. But which one? How can I be sure it will be accredited? How good are the facilities and who’s providing the supervision? What’s the after-hours roster like? Have any other trainees spent time there and what did they think of it? Could spending time at this hospital give me a chance at establishing a career in the future if the area needs another general physician?” Fellows likewise complain: “If only our trainees knew what we could offer them and how we would support them if they wanted to come back as consultants and set up practice here."
In providing such information, IMSANZ is building a national database of hospitals which offer training opportunities for advanced trainees in GIM. We are inviting resident physicians to submit a profile of their local hospital using the following template adapted from that kindly provided by the Australian Society of Geriatric Medicine. Already, we have profiles on almost all tertiary and secondary referral hospitals in Queensland, as well as several from NSW, Victoria and New Zealand. Many thanks to those who provided this information. But we want national coverage on both sides of the Tasman.
We, therefore, invite all fellows outside Queensland to complete the 
attached
profile (PDF:
142KB) and forward it to the IMSANZ secretary, Mary Fitzgerald,
at 145 Macquarie Street, Sydney 2000 (fax 02-9247 7214) or e-mail her
at imsanz@racp.edu.au if you prefer
to submit the electronic version. A sample
copy (PDF
file, 21KB) of the profile for Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane
is provided to assist you.
We hope to collate all profiles into folders and CD discs, for distribution at the Trainee Skills Day and the IMSANZ Jobs Expo that will be part of next year’s RACP Annual Scientific Meeting in Canberra. With recent changes to college training requirements, that mandate basic trainees spending 6 months of their 12 months of core general training in a non-tertiary hospital, and gaining exposure to subspecialty rotations in their second 12 months, there is now the best opportunity, to date, for general physicians to attract basic trainees into their hospitals and show them the benefits of a career in GIM.
We urge you to support this initiative. State and NZ councillors will be in contact with members over coming weeks to ensure that all are aware of this project and to provide any assistance.
Ian Scott
On behalf of IMSANZ Council
For career opportunities see Positions Vacant