AMA whole again, green shoots in training and prac payment push

The national AMA has officially welcomed the AMA WA back into the federation after an embarrassing stoush saw it evicted in February.

---

Welcome to the leftovers, where we serve you a smorgasbord of bite-sized news.

Enjoy your meal!

AMA WA and AMA federal kiss and make up

The 5000-odd AMA members residing in Western Australia have finally been returned to full membership status, seven months after being expelled from the federal body.

As of Monday 14 October, AMA WA members could once again access national membership perks like free access to the AMA fees list and AMA careers service, as well as a complimentary subscription to the Medical Journal of Australia.

The spat began in 2023, with AMA WA taking issue with the amount of money it was asked to contribute to the federal body.

AMA WA claimed to have historically contributed about 18% of national AMA funds while representing just 10% of membership.

The situation escalated in February when the federal AMA sent an email to all AMA WA members advising them that they were no longer part of the federal body.

While both sides agreed the split would be temporary, negotiations broke down over the following months.

“Together, the AMA federation covers all aspects of funding, regulation and support impacting you – whether you are a doctor in training, a GP, a non-GP specialist, and regardless of whether you are in the public or private sector,” the AMA WA said.

“Recognising this, the new agreement is consistent with WA doctors being members of both organisations and will be consistent with the arrangements that AMA Limited has with other state and territory AMAs.”

AMA federal president Dr Danielle McMullen and board chair Associate Professor Andrew Miller – not to be confused with the former AMA WA president of the same name – said it was important for doctors to have advocates at all levels of government.

“It’s clear there is much to be done, and we are delighted that going forward together, that’s where the focus of both our organisations will continue [to] be,” they said.

“Promising signs” for GP training in Health of the Nation

The number of junior doctors going into general practice might be trending upward, but General Practice Registrars Australia has called for more to be done.

Commenting on the RACGP’s Health of the Nation report, GPRA president Dr Karyn Matterson said the statistics showing a rise in the proportion of GPs recommending general practice as a career path were “pleasing”.

While this rise, coupled with an increase in the number of doctors entering general practice, were a promising sign, she said, there was a real need for junior doctors to become invested in general practice as a career.

“It’s time to listen to the solutions our future GPs – the medical students in the GP Clubs – have been putting forward to policy makers about what they believe will keep students interested and connected with general practice over the some 15 years it takes to produce a GP specialist,” said Dr Matterson.

GPRA is calling for more funding to go toward medical school GP clubs to help foster interest in the specialty.

AMA to keep fighting for med student prac payments

Medical students are also top of mind for the AMA this week, with federal president Dr McMullen writing to Education Minister Jason Clare requesting that medical students be included in the Commonwealth’s paid placement scheme.

Announced in May, the scheme will only extend to university students studying nursing, midwifery, social work or teaching.

Medical students were excluded despite the fact that they are expected to complete around 2000 hours of unpaid clinical placement over the course of their degree.

“The costs associated with this unpaid placement are a significant barrier to participation among current and potential students from low socio-economic and rural backgrounds,” Dr McMullen said.

“Evidence also tells us that medical students that practice in a rural and regional area are more likely to stay in a rural and regional areas.

“Helping these students stay and undertake their practice in rural and remote communities will mean more doctors in areas that struggle the most with access.” 

The Australian Medical Students Association has collected more than 12,000 signatures on a petition calling for medical students to be included under the policy.