Australia
Fast-Track Process to Get More Specialists to Australia
A new process to safely fast-track urgently needed internationally trained medical specialists into the Australian health system was the headline of the Medical Board of Australia’s recent annual meeting.
Initially prioritizing general practitioners, anesthetists, obstetricians and gynecologists, and psychiatrists (in line with jurisdictional priorities), the new process aims to get more medical specialists face to face with patients in Australia, through a fast track that will sit alongside the existing specialist medical college assessment system.
The new process will recognize specific overseas specialist medical qualifications and grant upfront specialist registration to eligible doctors. Initial conditions on their registration will be imposed as a safeguard to protect patients while the new recruits are inducted into Australia’s healthcare system.
The National Cabinet has put regulatory reform squarely in the sights of Ahpra and the Medical Board and set an ambitious timeline for action on the recommendations of the Kruk review, this month’s annual gathering of more than 150 medical regulators and staff nationwide was told.
The Kruk review explicitly recommended the creation of an alternative fast track pathway to specialist registration for eligible medical specialists from countries with comparable healthcare systems.
Ahpra and the Board have set up a taskforce to develop the new expedited pathway and the Board is now consulting with the specialist colleges for the priority medical specialties to finalize the list of qualifications that will be the gateway to fast-track registration.
Pakistan
International Medical Education Conference Held
The International Medical Education Conference 2024 under, the leadership of Professor Khalid Masood Gondal, was held on March 1-2, 2024, at the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Pakistan (CPSP) National Headquarters in Karachi. Participants included both international and national medical educationists. The theme of the conference was “Building Trust in Postgraduate Medical Education and Practice.” Attendees included approximately 25 international medical education-ists and delegates from various countries across the globe including the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Canada, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
The conference was preceded by pre-conference educational workshops in medical and dental institutions throughout the country from February 12-25, 2024, which created an environment of educational festivity and set the stage for the workshops by the international medical educationists at CPSP Karachi on February 27-28, 2024.
Additional information about the conference is available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jj1ItiUxx1LeKimgrRlp_3BiEYwj1F1UreGfKjusVhY/edit
United Kingdom
GMC Decision Makers Given More Flexibility
Case examiners and other fitness to practice decision makers at the General Medical Council (GMC) now have more discretion to close complaints following updates to its guidance.
The changes to the medical regulator’s “Guidance for Decision Makers when Violence and Dishonesty may Represent a Lower Risk to Public Protection,” are part of its commitment to assure fairness in its processes through more efficient and proportionate investigations.
Decision makers will now be able to weigh the full circumstances of a concern earlier in the fitness to practice process to assess the overall risk to public protection including to public confidence in the profession—meaning some concerns may not need to be investigated or referred to a tribunal.
Concerns that fall under the guidance are those that are minor in nature and did not impact patient care. Allegations of violence and dishonesty which raise a risk to public protection, including where there is a history of repeated behavior, will continue to be investigated.