Fed: Student doctors may buy way out of bush scheme

AAP General News (Australia)
04-26-2004
Fed: Student doctors may buy way out of bush scheme

By Katherine Danks

SYDNEY, April 26 AAP - Moves by medical students to buy their way out of a bonding
scheme requiring them to work in rural communities was yet another blow to the bush, a
rural doctors group said today.

The Australian Medical Students Association (AMSA) said it has received phone calls
from at least 12 students who are considering paying their way out of the scheme on completion
of their training.

The bonded students missed out on the normal round of university offers and were offered
the opportunity to study medicine on the condition they would practise in an area which
has a critical doctor shortage.

The federal government pays up to $15,000 per student for each year of tuition, for
up to six years.

Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) president Dr Sue Page today said it would
hurt rural hospitals and communities if students did not honour their contracts.

"... we are talking about an enormous shortfall in the medical workforce in rural and
remote areas," she said.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Tony Abbott said the government would require a payment
of up to $90,000 if any of the 234 students decided to pull out of the scheme.

"The government would hope that they would honour the conditions that they signed up
to and go and practise in those areas," she said.

"Without these bonded places they would not even have the opportunity to study medicine."

AMSA president Matthew Hutchinson said many students and parents had contacted the
association for advice and support on the issue.

"Both AMSA and the AMA (Australian Medical Association) are very, very much opposed
to bonding and primarily for the fact that good international evidence shows the bonding
does not work," he said.

Mr Hutchinson said he was not sure how the move would affect rural communities.

Dr Page said students should receive financial incentives to practise in rural and
remote communities.

"We think that every student really ought to spend some time rural, because 30 per
cent of Australia's people live in rural (areas)," she said.

"You actually want people to stay rural as well and if they never go rural in their
training well then they're probably 30 by the time they get out there and they've probably
married someone in the city.

"But we would prefer to see that the rural students get a financial incentive, there
are additional costs to going country."

AAP kjd/nf/drp/jlw

KEYWORD: DOCTORS

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