Medical Training Review Panel 19th Report

Fellows by Subspecialty – Selected Colleges

Data on fellows for pathology, physician (adult medicine and paediatric and child health) and surgical subspecialties are presented in Table 4.55 to Table 4.58.

Pathology Subspecialties

Table 4.55: Pathology fellows: Total, females and proportion of females by subspecialty, 2014

Subspecialty	Fellows	Female fellows	Proportion female (%)
Anatomical pathology	810	381	47.0
Chemical pathology	77	27	35.1
Forensic pathology	45	18	40.0
General pathology	79	16	20.3
Genetic pathology	17	6	35.3
Haematology	471	186	39.5
Immunopathology	104	30	28.8
Microbiology	201	86	42.8
Oral and maxillofacial pathology	6	1	16.7
Total	1,810	751	41.5

Source: Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia

Physician Adult Medicine Subspecialties

Table 4.56: Physician adult medicine fellows: Total, females and proportion of females by subspecialty, 2014

Subspecialty	Fellows	Female fellows	Proportion female (%)
Cardiology	986	147	14.9
Clinical genetics	9	6	66.7
Clinical haematology	9	3	33.3
Clinical immunology and allergy	16	5	31.3
Clinical pharmacology	50	12	24.0
Endocrinology	458	248	54.1
Endocrinology/Chemical pathology	6	6	100.0
Gastroenterology	621	143	23.0
General medicine	745	172	23.1
Geriatric medicine	528	253	47.9
Haematology	363	132	36.4
Immunology and allergy	74	28	37.8
Infectious diseases	282	113	40.1
Infectious diseases and microbiology	43	21	48.8
Intensive care medicine	67	8	11.9
Medical oncology	509	230	45.2
Nephrology	396	133	33.6
Neurology	381	99	26.0
Nuclear medicine	166	45	27.1
Palliative medicine	90	65	72.2
Respiratory and sleep medicine^(a)	518	136	26.3
Rheumatology	262	117	44.7
Total^(b)	^(c)7,004	^(c)2,122	30.3

1. 
   Includes fellows who completed training in thoracic medicine and thoracic and sleep medicine, sleep I and II.
   
2. 
   The totals listed are not cumulative totals of the numbers presented above, as the list of specialties is not exhaustive, and there are several fellows who were admitted to fellowship when record-keeping practices did not denote a specialty.
   
3. 
   Numbers reflect fellows within a sub-specialty. Due to fellows holding multiple sub-specialties, this is not a one-to-one relationship.
   

Source: Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Physician Paediatric Subspecialties

Table 4.57: Physician paediatrics and child health fellows: Total, females and proportion of females by subspecialty, 2014

Subspecialty	Fellows	Female fellows	Proportion female (%)
Cardiology	31	3	9.7
Clinical genetics	57	32	56.1
Clinical haematology	2	0	0
Clinical immunology and allergy	10	6	60.0
Clinical pharmacology	3	2	66.7
Community child health	83	73	88.0
Endocrinology	45	31	68.9
Endocrinology/Chemical pathology	0	0	0
General paediatrics	749	420	56.1
Gastroenterology	34	8	23.5
Haematology	19	10	52.6
Immunology and allergy	14	8	57.1
Infectious diseases	22	12	54.5
Infectious diseases and microbiology	3	0	0
Intensive care medicine	7	1	14.3
Medical oncology	46	20	43.5
Neonatal/Perinatal medicine	165	75	45.5
Nephrology	20	9	45.0
Neurology	46	20	43.5
Nuclear medicine	14	3	21.4
Paediatric child and adolescent psychiatry	6	4	66.7
Paediatric emergency medicine	87	49	56.3
Palliative medicine	5	4	80.0
Respiratory and sleep medicine^(a)	62	28	45.2
Rheumatology	16	6	37.5
Total^(b)	^(c)2,054	^(c)999	48.6

1. 
   Figures for respiratory and sleep include fellows who completed training in thoracic medicine and thoracic and sleep medicine, Sleep I and II.
   
2. 
   The totals listed are not cumulative totals of the numbers presented above, as the list of specialties is not exhaustive, and there are several fellows who were admitted to fellowship when record-keeping practices did not denote a specialty.
   
3. 
   Numbers reflect fellows within a sub-specialty. Due to fellows holding multiple sub-specialties, this is not a one-to-one relationship.
   

Source: Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Surgical Subspecialties

Table 4.58: Surgical fellows: Total, females and proportion of females by subspecialty, 2014

Subspecialty	Fellows	Female fellows	Proportion female (%)
Cardiothoracic surgery	178	9	5.1
General surgery	1,574	221	14.0
Neurosurgery	229	31	13.5
Orthopaedic surgery	1,223	43	3.5
Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery	440	57	13.0
Paediatric surgery	90	26	28.9
Plastic and reconstructive surgery	413	54	13.1
Urology	395	35	8.9
Vascular surgery	185	20	10.8
Total	4,727	496	10.5

Source: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

Chapter 5: International Supply

Overseas trained medical professionals bring valuable skills and experience. They are a key component of Australia’s health workforce, providing patients with access to care not only in rural and remote areas, but metropolitan and regional areas as well. Some may work in Australia on a temporary basis while many others go on to become permanent residents of Australia.

This chapter brings together the available data on medical practitioners who have trained overseas - their assessment by the Australian Medical Council (AMC), the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and specialist medical colleges, and those with approved working visas issued by the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

International medical graduates must first apply to the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection for a visa under which they may work or continue their training in Australia. They are usually overseas when applying, but others who have already entered Australia can also apply. Applicants were assessed by the Australian Medical Council as to whether they were eligible to seek registration to practise medicine in Australia and then, if successful, apply through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to be registered to practise nationally.

In 2012, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing published Lost in the Labyrinth, a report on the inquiry into registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors. In response to this report, the AMC together with the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) and specialist medical colleges reviewed the processing of applications for assessment under the Competent Authority and Specialist pathways to remove any unnecessary obstacles or impediments to the efficient processing of assessments leading to registration. As a result, new procedures were implemented from

1 July 2014. Assessments through the Competent Authority Pathway are now processed by the AHPRA directly, rather than through the AMC, while applications for specialist assessment are processed by the medical colleges directly with the AMC undertaking the primary source verification of qualifications only.

As part of their Medicare Provider Number applications to the Australian Government Department of Human Services – Medicare, overseas trained doctors must apply for an exemption under section 19AB of the Act in order to access Medicare benefits for the services they provide.

Further information is available at the DoctorConnect website.

More details on these processes and the numbers entering Australia and being assessed are provided in this chapter.