Overseas-trained doctors: hunger for justice

By Tuntuni Bhattacharyya

SYDNEY — As of February 20, seven doctors camped outside the NSW Parliament House had not taken any food for six days. The hunger strike by members of Australian Doctors Trained Overseas is to protest the Australian medical establishment's "closed shop".

Up to 1200 fully qualified doctors are not allowed to work thanks to a racist and unaccountable exam set up by the Australian Medical Council, a private organisation controlled by the conservative Australian Medical Association. Overseas-trained doctors are required to sit both written and oral exams set before they are allowed to practise in Australia.

The pass rate is only 16%, compared to the 95% of Australian students who pass university medical courses. This huge discrepancy has been put down to supposedly poor standards overseas. However, an analysis by Monash University found that Australian medical students who sat the AMC exam had the same pass rates as overseas-trained graduates.

Since 1998 doctors are allowed only two attempts at the AMC exams, after which they lose the right to practise in Australia.

Dr Assad Razhagi, president of Australian Doctors Trained Overseas Association and leader of the hunger strike, said, "For years migrant overseas-trained doctors have been the target of officials from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to convince them to emigrate to Australia.

"Others have come as refugees, looking for a fairer chance in life, after they have been discriminated against in their countries of origin."

The Australian Doctors Trained Overseas are keen for the community to understand the differences between themselves and the Temporary Resident Doctors (TRD) and New Zealand Doctors (NZD). The health minister brings in annually more than 1500 doctors through the TRD and NZD schemes to fill locum and rural doctor shortages. Studies show a shortage of 4000 doctors in Australia.

These doctors are given automatic registration. They receive paid orientation and bridging training and potentially cost $40 million of government funding, in locum placement fees paid to medical business groups. However, if any of them apply for immigrant status, they are branded incompetent and required to sit the AMC exam.

Recently NSW health minister Dr Andrew Refshauge claimed that the situation was out of his hands because it was a matter of "standards".

Discrimination against migrant workers must end. Overseas-trained doctors need to be assimilated into the medical system through a nationally accredited bridging course.

Show your support for the hunger strikers by visiting them in front of the NSW parliament house in Macquarie Street, Sydney.

[Dr Tuntuni Bhattacharyya is the Democratic Socialist candidate for Marrickville in the NSW state election.]

From GLW issue 350