Hey guys,
I'm currently a medical student studying in Australia. Before coming to Australia, just thought that you guys should know about the current situation here.
There is an internship crisis and it is likely international students will not get any jobs in Australia after graduating, i.e. you will be booted out of the country once you have paid all your fees and completed your education. Without an internship, you will be considered a medical graduate but not a doctor, as you will need the internship to get the license to practice medicine. Should you choose to do the internship elsewhere (e.g. back in Singapore) you'll be treated as any foreign trained doctor when you return to Australia, even though you studied medicine in Australia.
You should also know that currently the government is unwilling to fund international students (we are known as "cash cows") for internships and are playing politics with the health system. Although some student representatives have been bargaining for more internship places, the ministers cannot really be bothered with international students, and there is no telling what the result might be.
Have a read of these articles and websites.
Raising Awareness of the Intern Crisis and Medical Training Shortages - #interncrisis - Medical Student Action on Training -------see section on "Be Informed"
Internships are not a privilege to be sold
From an international medical student to the health minister - On Line Opinion - 26/10/2012
If you don't intend to stay in Australia, then this situation probably would not affect you. But those who want an option to stay or practise medicine overseas, I would suggest you think twice before coming to Australia. Many of us were not informed of the internship/licensing situation before making the decision to come here.
I know most of you would be excited coming to medical school, like how I was! But you should also consider what would happen after that. How would you go about getting a specialty training place in Singapore, especially when it's reserved mainly for local graduates? Perhaps you want to complete specialty training outside Singapore (possibly Australia) but how will you do that when there is a internship crisis in Australia? Many of you probably want to return home, but would your perspective change after 5-6 years in Australia?
There may be better options other than Australia (e.g. UK, Ireland, etc.) I would like to encourage you to consider and research carefully before taking this big step. I wish you all the best in fulfilling your aspirations.
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