AdvanceMed

Author: Anthony Llewellyn

  • Medical Internship 2020 / 2021 Australia

    Medical Internship 2020 / 2021 Australia

    *We will be regularly updating this post as information is updated about the Medical Internship process in Australia. The situation is fluid and has been disrupted somewhat due to COVID-19.

    It’s that time of the year again. The time when each of the States and Territories in Australia open up the process of applications for medical internships for the following year. For four years I was responsible for running the largest Intern application system in Australia for 4 years. The NSW Intern application system. So I’d like to share with this year’s medical graduates some of the wisdom I gained from that experience.

    (Disclaimer: All information here has been sourced in good faith but things do change so you should always do your own due diligence in such matters, we are providing this information to aid you in your application but take no responsibility for any outcomes)

    Intern applications and allocations are normally coordinated across Australia so that every State and Territory opens and closes their systems at the same time and makes offers at the same times. It still appears that this will be the case in 2020, despite COVID-19. The key things that all medical graduates should consider in preparing their medical internship application for the 2021 year in 2020 are as follows:

    • Applications open on 4th May 2020.
    • Applications close on 4th June 2020.
    • Make sure that you have an Intern Placement Number otherwise you won’t be able to apply.
    • You should research the application requirements now as there may be some “surprises”. As soon as the application system opens, register or log in and ensure that you have everything you need to complete your application.
    • Understand where you sit in the priority list for any State or Territory you are applying to.
    • If you will need to attend an interview. Make sure you have gotten leave from your medical school requirements to attend.
    • Also, consider that the interview is likely to be either via phone or video this year.
    • Give yourself time to request referees, put together a Resume, if required and find other documents that you may need.
    • First offers come out from 13th July 2020. So make sure that you have regular access to your email as your time for accepting offers can be quite short.
    • Stay in touch with your medical school. you may be worried about completing your degree on time but they are all working very hard with the other institutions to give you the best chance of completion.

    Tip #1. Your Medical Intern Placement Number.

    The IPN is a unique nine-digit number that has been generated by AHPRA and has been provided to medical schools for distribution to all 2020 final year medical students. The number is used as part of the national audit process (which ensures that intern positions across the country are made available to as many applicants as possible) as well as to streamline registration.

    This number is not the same number as your AHPRA registration number or student number. If you have not received you IPN you should check with your school

    Tip #2. Other Things You Will Likely Need. 

    The majority of States and Territories require you to upload an academic transcript as proof that you are indeed a medical student. 

    They will also request evidence that you satisfactorily meet the AHPRA English Language requirements. This may seem a bit ridiculous given that you have been attending medical school in English for the last 4 or 5 years. But it is the law. So check whether you may need to submit an up-to-date English test result or some other form of documentary evidence such as a high school certificate.

    Most States and Territories will also request a CV or Resume. For tips on your CV or Resume see our ultimate guide to CVs or watch a video series about this.

    Some States and Territories have a CV template that they suggest that you use to fill in your information. In the case of Victoria, you are required to use this template. It’s probably fairly harmless to use the template for the other States and Territories. But if you are thinking about your future career, then nows is a good time to be designing your own CV. The risk of using the template is that you don’t stand out from other candidates.

    You will need to also provide proof of your identity, citizenship, residency, or visa. And if you have had a name change along the way you will probably also need to provide some documentation in relation to this.

    Why All This Information?

    The State and Territory bodies who administer the Intern application process have a responsibility to ensure that you are eligible to apply for provisional registration at the end of the year in order to work as an Intern.  They collect this information to check that everything is in order so that you are indeed eligible to apply. Employers can get rightly annoyed when told that someone who has been allocated to work with them as an Intern will have a several-month delay whilst they resit an English language test.

    However, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you are eligible for registration. So you should also be checking these things yourself. 

    It’s hard to fathom given the amount of communication from health departments, medical schools and student colleagues. But every year there are a handful of medical students who forget to apply for their internship. This means having to wait another year. Don’t let that be you.

    Dr Anthony Llewellyn | Career Doctor

    Tip #3. Research and Apply Early.

    It’s hard to fathom given the amount of communication from health departments, medical schools and student colleagues. But every year there are a handful of medical students who forget to apply for their internship. This means having to wait another year. Don’t let that be you.

    There are even more students who leave their applications to the last minute. Only to find that they are missing a vital document. For example, this could be evidence you need to substantiate that English is your first language, such as a high school certificate. Or perhaps your last name has changed whilst you have been in medical school? Or maybe you need to submit a CV with your application?

    As soon as the application page opens for each State and Territory you are going to apply to make sure your register. And then go as far through the process of applying as possible so you can see if there is some sort of document you need to obtain.

    Tip #4. Practice Your Video Interview Technique.

    If you are one of the many students who may need to undertake an interview for your internship choices as occurs in certain situations, such as rural preferential recruitment and certain States such as Victoria. Then you should be prepared for the fact that this year your interview is unlikely to be held in person and very likely to be conducted on video.

    There’s a lot more than you think to video interviewing. For a rundown on this check out this recent post.

    Tip #5. Know Where You Sit In The Priority List.

    ts important to know where you sit on the priority list. Each State and Territory has a slightly different order but in essence, it goes something like this:

    1. If you are an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident and went to Medical School in that State or Territory you are top of the list.
    2. If you are an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident and went to Medical School in another State or Territory or New Zealand you are probably second.
    3. If you are an International student who studied Medicine in Australia you are probably next.

    Priorities Within Priorities.

    Some States and Territories also have priority pathways to ensure that groups such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and doctors who wish to work rurally or regionally can obtain their preferred placement early.

    So if you are an International student and like the idea of working rurally it’s probably a good idea to consider a rural pathway as it will likely boost your chances of gaining an Intern position earlier in the process.

    More Information on Each Jurisdiction

    New South Wales

    Intern Positions ≅ 1,039 (including 170 rural preferential)
    Annual Salary = $69,649

    The Health Education & Training Institute runs the countries largest Intern application process. Offering over 1,000 internships.

    Interns can be allocated to one of 15 networks of hospitals. The offer is for a 2-year contract to cover both internship and residency.

    You have the option of applying through one of 4 pathways:
    – Aboriginal Recruitment Pathway
    – Rural Preferential Pathway
    – Regional Allocation Pathway
    – Optimised (or Main) Pathway

    Only applicants who go through the Rural Preferential Pathway need to submit a CV and attend an interview.  All other pathways are based on applications only.

    Intern Placement Priorities:

    Priority 1 – Medical graduates of NSW universities who are Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents (Commonwealth Supported Place and Domestic Full Fee paying). This priority category is guaranteed an intern position in NSW. 

    Priority 2 – Medical graduates of interstate or New Zealand universities who completed Year 12 studies in NSW who are Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents (Commonwealth Supported Place, Domestic Full Fee paying or NZ equivalent). 

    Priority 3 – Medical graduates of interstate or New Zealand universities who completed Year 12 studies outside of NSW who are Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents (Commonwealth Supported Place, Domestic Full Fee paying or NZ equivalent). 

    Priority 4 – Medical graduates of NSW universities who are not Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents and who hold a visa that allows them to work or are able to obtain a visa to work.

    Priority 5 – Medical graduates of interstate or New Zealand universities who are not Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents and who hold a visa that allows them to work or are able to obtain a visa to work in Australia. 

    Priority 6 – Medical graduates of Australian Medical Council accredited universities with campuses that are located outside of Australia or New Zealand who are not Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents and who hold a visa that allows them to work or are able to obtain a visa to work in Australia.

    HETI Medical Graduate Recruitment Page.

    HETI Prevocational Training Application Program Portal.

    Victoria

    Estimated Numbers = 820
    Annual Salary = $79,138

    Internship in Victoria works around a computer matching system which is administered by the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria. The system appears to have had a significant overall this year and looks to be much more user friendly.

    Portal

    There is no other information available at this stage.

    Below is information from last year.

    Once you have submitted all your details and preferences the match informs the various hospitals and health networks who then conduct a selection process.  Some but not all hospitals and networks perform interviews.  Your selection may just be based on where you sit in the priority list plus your CV and referee reports.

    Interns can be allocated to one of 22 hospitals and networks. This includes a small number of community based internships where the focus is more on community based models of care, including working in primary care and smaller hospitals.

    For Victoria you will need to submit a CV. This MUST BE on the quite unattractive PMCV Standardised CV Template. You don’t have to put a photo on your CV. And I would not recommend doing so.
    Intern Placement Priorities:

    Priority Group 1 – Australian permanent residents or citizens and New Zealand citizens graduating from a Victorian medical schools including CSP and domestic full fee paying students (i.e. graduates of University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University and University of Notre Dame: Melbourne & Ballarat Clinical Schools).

    Priority Group 2 – Australian temporary resident graduates of Victorian medical schools  Interstate Special Consideration candidates (approved by DHHS)

    Priority Group 3 – Australian permanent resident graduates of interstate or New Zealand universities (including previous residents of Victoria); Australian temporary resident graduates of interstate universities; New Zealand temporary resident graduates of New Zealand universities; and Graduates from an overseas campus of an Australian/New Zealand University accredited by the Australian Medical Council (e.g. Monash University – Sunway Campus, Malaysia)

    Queensland

    Estimated Numbers = 776 (including 67 rural generalist)
    Annual Salary = $78,941

    Queensland Health conducts the annual intern allocation process in Queensland. Interns can be allocated to one of 20 primary allocation centres. An interesting aspect of the Queensland application portal is that you can see a live indication of where other applicants have preferenced other hospitals. This is presumably designed to encourage medical students to consider other hospitals and get the student group itself to work out the allocation. I have no indication whether its a useful process or not. If you know anything about this. Leave a comment below.

    Intern Allocation Priorities:

    Group A
    Medical graduates of Queensland universities who are Australia/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents; and are seeking an internship commencing in the year immediately following graduation;
    OR 
    received Review Committee approval from a previous campaign to defer commencement of internship

    Group B
    Medical graduates of Australian (interstate) or New Zealand universities who are Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents;
    OR
    Medical graduates of Queensland universities who are Australian/New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents who do not meet the criteria outlined in Group A

    Group C
    Medical graduates of Australian (Queensland or interstate) or New Zealand universities who are NOT Australian / New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents who: 
    currently hold a visa that allows them to work in Australia;
    OR
    will need to obtain a visa to work in Australia

    Group D
    Medical graduates of Australian University campuses outside of Australia accredited by the Australian Medical Council.
    OR
    Medical graduates of international universities who have not completed an internship in Australia or another country and have either: 
    – obtained the AMC Certificate (and are eligible for provisional registration)
    – successfully completed the AMC MCQ (multiple choice questionnaire) (and are eligible for limited registration)

    The Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway (QRGP) offers graduating medical students the opportunity to explore a wide variety of clinical training and develop the advanced skill set required to support the health needs of rural communities. It’s a priority pathway that you can opt for first.

    If you are not interested in the Rural Generalist pathway then you need to work out which category you are in.

    Intern Application Info Page.

    How To Apply.

    Application Portal.

    *Queensland is one of a few jurisdictions that does permit International Medical Graduates to apply for positions as part of the last Applicant Group.

    South Australia

    Estimated Number = 260
    Annual Salary = $77,084

    SA Health Careers conducts the annual Intern application process in South Australia. There are 3 Adelaide based Local Health Networks and one small Country Health Network (based at Mt Gambier & Whyalla) to which you can apply for the priority Rural Intern pathway.

    The Rural Intern Pathway is a strength based recruitment process for applicants who are interested in undertaking their internship (and potentially subsequent years) in rural hospitals within Country Health SA (CHSA). Rural intern positions provide broad opportunities in unique settings and are best suited for medical graduates with a history of living or working in a rural areas or a desire to commence a career in the country. 

    Intern Allocation Priorities:

    Category 1 Australian Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents and New Zealand Citizens
    1.1: Medical graduates from a South Australian university who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI)
    1.2: Medical graduates from a South Australian university – Commonwealth-supported (HECS-HELP) or SA Bonded Medical Scholarship Scheme (SABMSS)
    1.3: Medical graduates from a South Australian university – full-fee paying

    Category 2 Australian Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents and New Zealand Citizens
    2.1: Medical graduates from an interstate or New Zealand university who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI)
    2.2: Medical graduates from an interstate or New Zealand university who completed Year 12 in South Australia
    2.3: Medical graduates from an interstate or New Zealand university
    2.4: Medical graduates from an overseas university who completed Year 12 in South Australia
    2.5: Medical graduates from an overseas university 

    Category 3 Australian Temporary Residents and New Zealand Permanent Residents
    3.1: Medical Students from a South Australian University 

    Category 4 Australian Temporary Residents and New Zealand Permanent Residents
    4.1: Medical graduates from an interstate or New Zealand University 

    Category 5 Australian Temporary Residents and New Zealand Permanent Residents
    5.1: Medical graduates who have spent two or more semesters in an overseas campus of an Australian or New Zealand University (eg Monash Sunway campus, UQ New Orleans campus)
    5.2: Medical graduates of an overseas university

    South Australia is one of few States that specifically permits medical graduates from other countries to apply for internship positions. But they are at the very bottom of the priority list.

    If you are not a South Australian medical student, in order to apply for an internship in South Australia you will need to provide a certificate confirming that you have completed the SA Health online electronic medical record (Sunrise EMR & PAS) training. 

    Western Australia

    Estimated Numbers = 310 (based on 2020)
    Annual Salary = $78,749

    In WA all interns are employed by a Primary Employing Health Service (PEHS). 

    There are 4 PEHSs and each PEHS is a major tertiary hospital in WA which have been accredited to directly employ interns and provide a high-quality intern training program. Each PEHS normally holds an information night. There is no information available about these at the moment. You can also choose to work as a rural intern by applying to work through Western Australia Country Health Service.

    The process is coordinated by the Postgraduate Medical Council of Western Australia but you apply through the WA Jobs site and selection occurs through panels representing each of the PEHSs. As part of your application, you need to provide a cover letter and CV and will require a range of other documents as well as to nominate 3 referees. If successful you will receive a contract for 3 years.

    Application Portal

    Key Dates

    Northern Territory

    Estimated Number = 50
    Annual Salary = $78,750

    The NT Prevocational Medical Assurance Services (PMAS) conducts a central review of eligible applicants and all intern positions are allocated within the two  NT Health Services:
    Top End Health Service (TEHS) – Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH)
    Central Australia Health Service (CAHS) – Alice Springs Hospital (ASH)

    Eligible applicants are allocated intern positions in line with the Northern Territory category groups. Within the relevant category groups applicants are allocated to their highest possible Health Service preference, pending availability of a position.

    Overall the intern allocation process is based on an applicant’s category group, Health Service preference and the number of positions available in each health service.

    The two NT Health Services are responsible for selecting applicants and making their offers of employment, applicants are advised via email.  The Health Service responsible for making the offer of employment will after receiving an acceptance from an applicant arrange an employment contract for an Internship position within their health service to be provided prior to commencing internship.

    NTPMAS Site

    NT Department of Health Intern Recruitment Link (includes information on Categories)

    *NT is one of a few jurisdictions which will consider 

    Australian Capital Territory

    Estimated Numbers = 95
    Annual Salary = $74,826
    (6 of these positions are normally guaranteed to NSW medical students)

    If you want to apply for an internship position in the Australian Capital Territory you do so via the ACT Health Recruitment page.

    Most of your time is spent at the Canberra Hospital. But ACT is interesting as it is one of the few chances you may have as an Intern to work in 2 separate States and Territories. Rotations may include secondments to Calvary Public Hospital, Goulburn Base Hospital and South East Regional Hospital (SERH) at Bega. 

    Priority is given to:
    – Australian Graduates of ANU
    – Maximum 6 graduates of NSW Universities
    – Graduates of other Universities who completed Year 12 in ACT
    – International Fee Paying Graduates of ANU
    – Graduates of other Australian Universities
    – Graduates of Australian University campuses outside of Australia

    Other details are limited at this stage. 

    Intern Priority List

    Recruitment Page.

    Tasmania

    Estimated Number  = 90
    Annual Salary = $70,315
    Internships are coordinated in Tasmania via the Department of Health and Human Services.

    All applicants are required to apply online. As part of your application you are asked to preference all of the 3 available sites:
    – Hobart
    – Launceston
    – North West Region

    Candidates need to attach a CV/Resume and any other relevant information to their application and must arrange completion of two electronic referee reports:

    – One (1) referee that is employed in a clinical role (Clinical Academic) with the University where you are studying/or studied medicine and is aware of your studies in the past 12-24 months; AND

    – One (1) that is – a senior clinician (>4 years’ experience post general registration) who has observed you (you have worked with) during your clinical placements in the past 12-24 months, and can comment on your suitability for hospital-based practice.

    Intern Placement Priorities:

    The Tasmanian Health Service currently gives priority, in order, to:
    – Australian permanent resident Tasmanian-trained Australian Government supported and full-fee paying medical graduates.
    – Australian temporary resident Tasmanian-trained full-fee paying medical graduates.-
    – Australian permanent resident interstate-trained Australian Government supported and full-fee paying medical graduates.
    – Australian temporary resident interstate-trained full-fee paying medical graduates.
    – Medical graduates of an Australian Medical Council accredited overseas University.

    Selection occurs via face-to-face interviews (likely to change). Following interview successful applicants will be placed in an order of merit with applicant performance at interview accounting for 70% of the overall score, and each referee report accounting for 15% of the overall score. Vacant positions are offered in order of merit and the Tasmanian Health Service Priority Placement Framework.

    Recruitment Link

    Commonwealth – Junior Doctor Training Program Private Hospital Stream

    Intern Positions TBD
    Annual Salary = will depend on which State or Territory you are employed in.

    The Commonwealth provides an additional Internship program for international students who study at Australian medical schools.

    *Any excess posts may be applied for by other IMGs in Australia

    The main function for this program over the years has been to provide additional opportunities for international students studying Medicine in Australia a chance to complete their internship.  This is done by tendering to various private hospitals for additional intern positions.

    The program was retitled in 2020 to the Junior Doctor Training Program Private Hospital Stream when there was 115 positions on offer.

    Normally there is not as much information about the program available until a mad flurry at the end of the year.  And 2020 seems to be no different. They are still sorting out which hospitals will provide internships.  After which there will probably be some information about how to apply.

    For now we know that the eligibility requirements are that you must either be an international full fee paying medical graduate from an onshore Australian medical school. This is Priority One. If not all positions are filled by priority one medical graduates then the private hospitals may then recruit other medical graduates who are eligible for provisional registration. This is the Priority Two category.

    Eligibility Requirements for Intern (PGY 1) Junior Doctor Training Places under the Junior Doctor Training Program Private Hospital Stream

    Under the PHS, participating private hospitals must prioritise international full fee paying medical graduates from onshore Australian medical schools (Priority One). Should these places not be filled, private hospitals may then recruit other medical graduates eligible for provisional registration (Priority Two). This means that the Commonwealth Scheme provides one of the few opportunities for IMGs who are applying via the standard pathway process to gain an internship position in Australia.

    To do so you will need to have met the Medical Board of Australia provisional registration requirements as a medical practitioner. And also have met the English language proficiency requirements for registration purposes. And commit to obtaining an appropriate visa to work in Australia during the internship year.
    Private Hospitals participating in delivering the Private Hospital Stream in past years were:
    – Mater Health Services North Queensland Limited
    – Mercy Health and Aged Care Central QLD
    – MQ Health (Macquarie University Hospital)
    – St John of God Health Care Inc.
    – St Vincent’s Private Hospital Limited
    – St Vincent’s Private Hospital Sydney
    – Ramsay Health Care
    – Greenslopes Private Hospital
    – Joondalup Hospital

    Link to Program details

    How To Decide?

    There are lots of considerations when it comes to putting in your Intern application. Everyone is a bit different. Some graduates feel like they would like to be close to home and family whilst going through their transition to Intern. Others see it as a chance to get away and explore a new place and location. And then others focus on the long-term career prospects of certain locations.

    I think this last consideration is a little overrated for most. You can generally experience a wide range of medicine in your first couple of years of medicine after graduation and there is scant evidence that this affects your prospects of applying for specialty training posts.

    That being said if you have an interest in anything other than Medicine, Surgery, or Emergency Medicine as a future career you should probably investigate whether this particular specialty is offered at the hospitals or networks to which you apply.

    Unfortunately, the internship model in Australia is quite antiquated and we have used the experience as a proxy for competency. The result has been the mandating of the 3 core terms for internship of Medicine, Surgery, and Emergency Medicine. There is really no solid educational basis for this approach and one of the unfortunate outcomes is that all the other specialties get squeezed out and few interns get to experience psychiatry, general practice, obstetrics, paediatrics, pathology, etc… which ultimately does have an effect on recruitment to these specialties.

    So the basic message is this. If you are really dead set keen on doing radiology as a career you should try to track down the very few locations that might offer this rotation to either interns or residents.

    Each year the Australian Medical Students’ Association produces a very useful Intern Guide with lots of information about the composition of intern training networks across the country. We are currently waiting on the 2020 version. But here’s a link to the 2019 version.

    Related Questions

    Question: What If I Have Special Circumstances Which Make It Hard For Me To Work In Certain Places?

    Answer: All States and Territories Have processes for considering special circumstances. Some of the types of circumstances that are generally approved are: where you may have certain health conditions that mean you need to be close to certain hospitals or specialists; where you have dependents, such as young children, and are unable to relocate due to care arrangements; and where you and your partner want to work as doctors in the same location.

    Generally requests to stay in certain locations, for reasons such as work commitments of partners or needs of school aged children are not granted.Question: I Have Received My Intern Offer. But I Would Like to Defer It. Is This Possible?

    Answer: This will partly depend on how long you wish to defer for. 

    If you just wish to defer for a a few months. Once you have your offer and are in discussions with your new employer make enquiries. It may be possible to negotiate a later start with your employer. Most employers will generally prefer that you start on time, so that you are not out of sync with your colleagues. But there might be some advantage for the employer in you attending orientation but then starting a bit later as it will probably help them to fill out roster gaps.
     
    On the other hand. If you wish to defer for a complete year. Then you will need to check the policy of the State or Territory that has provided you an Intern offer. In some cases (for example Victoria) you will be permitted to defer and your place will be held for you the following year. In most other cases you will need to reapply the following year and check whether your priority status has altered. In most cases you have the same priority status.

    Also bear in mind that it is unclear how long you can defer commencing your internship. However, the Medical Board of Australia expects that once you have commenced your internship you will have completed this process within 3 years.
    Question: I Am a Doctor With a Medical Degree From Outside Of Australia. Can I Apply For Internship?

    Answer: Unless you obtained your medical degree from a New Zealand Medical School. Then the brief answer to this question is no.

    I would love to stop there. And I really think you should as well. But there are rare circumstances where you may be able to obtain an internship with a medical degree from outside of Australia. But the Medical Board of Australia strongly advises against this option and so do I. For good reasons. Firstly the whole Australian medical internship system is designed to ensure that Australian medical graduates are able to undertake an internship. Not for overseas graduates. Secondly (and as a result of the first point) it is very rare to be offered the chance.

    Some States and Territories will not even consider an application from an IMG for internship. Others will only do so in limited circumstances, for example, the Northern Territory will accept applications from IMGs who may have done a medical student elective or clinical observership in the Northern Territory and who have experience in rural, remote and indigenous health locations. But even then these applicants are at the bottom of the priority list for obtaining an internship. South Australia will accept applications. But again you are bottom of the list. Queensland will also accept applicants, but only if you have never worked as a doctor. And again you are bottom of the list.

    A final note on this question is that the majority of IMGs who do obtain a medical internship position each year in Australia generally have Australian citizenship or permanent residency.Question: I Have Heard That Some Graduates Miss Out On Internship. Is This True?

    Answer: Whilst it is theoretically a possibility that some medical graduates miss out on Internship according to information provided by HETI for the most recent year of intern applications no-one was actually left at the end of the process without an offer.

    Only Australian citizens and permanent residents are guaranteed an intern position under the COAG agreement. However, there are generally enough intern positions available for those students who have come to Australia to study medicine and the Commonwealth Private Hospital program offers additional spaces for those that may miss out.

    That being said. It is also clear that many graduates choose to drop out of the application process themselves. So not everyone who applies gets an offer. The assumption is that some graduates take up similar intern opportunities in other countries upon graduation.

    (Disclaimer: all information here has been sourced in good faith but things do change so you should always do your own due diligence in such matters, we are providing this information to aid you in your application but take no responsibility for any outcomes)

    We’d welcome feedback from any Intern programs in relation to the accuracy of the above information.

  • Tips for Compiling A Great Rural Medical Student Resume.

    Tips for Compiling A Great Rural Medical Student Resume.

    Based On An Article Originally Requested By the NSW Medical Students Council about medical student resumes.

    Being able to compile a CV or Resume is an essential skill for pretty much any career.  But as a medical graduate, you may not necessarily have been taught this specific skill so far.

    In my experience it is uncommon for medical schools in Australia to cover how to compile a medical student resume as part of their formal curriculum.  But that’s okay. It is a skill that you can actually teach yourself with a bit of research and guidance.  I’ve reviewed tens of thousands of CVs and Resumes in my time and helped hundreds of doctors write or rewrite their resumes. So, you are in good hands.

    Unique to the state of New South Wales, where I reside, the only medical graduates who need to put a resume together are those applicants applying for Rural Preferential Recruitment (RPR).  This is because this is the only pathway that employers are directly involved in the selection process.  So, I am pleased to have been invited to write this article specifically for that purpose. But even if you are not applying for RPR you will probably learn something by reading this article because you will definitely need a resume in the next few years.

    Let’s start with the basic features of your medical student resume, which components are most important, and the recommended order. After which I will go into some more detail about 3 key aspects of your resume that are important to consider when applying for a rural internship (your personal statement, describing your education and choosing your referees).

    The Basic Medical Student Resume Format

    Included in this article is an example of how you can put together a 2-page medical student resume for your internship application. 

    You can also download this as a word doc template from the following link [will provide you the link].

    Most medical graduates will only need 2 pages for their medical student resume. But honestly if you need to go to another page or two that is fine.  Just know that when your CV is reviewed the first time, its not reviewed for very long (about 8 seconds) and most of that time is spent reviewing what is on the first page.  So, you need to be circumspect about what you do and don’t include on this page.

    The Front Page

    The front page of your medical student resume and in fact the top third of the front page is where you need to put down all the essential information that you absolutely want the employer to see and acknowledge.  You will notice in the example above the biggest element on the front page is the candidate’s name.  That’s deliberate.  That’s the one thing you want them to remember the most.  You notice I have also put Dr as a prefix.  Now you may not feel comfortable doing this if you have not officially completed your degree yet.  If so. That’s OK.  But definitely include it in future resumes.  It displays confidence and formality.

    You will also notice that high up on the front page of this medical student resume are some basic details, including your contacts (you want the employer to be able to contact you easily) and your short qualifications.  For medical jobs there are some essential requirements for most jobs.  These include items like having a medical degree, having the appropriate registration, and in some cases things like being registered with a college, having English language proficiency, and eligibility to work in Australia are also important.  So, all of these should be high up on the front page so that they are seen, and the employer can tick the necessary boxes.

    You will see that the other prominent element in the top third of the medical student resume is a statement.  We generally refer to this as a personal statement or career goal statement.  I recommend spending some time on getting this piece of text right.  It should provide a compelling story for the reviewer to want to talk to you in person.  But do this last after you have put together all the other elements of your resume as you will want to draw on some of these.  More about the personal statement shortly.

    For most medical student resumes work history comes straight after the personal statement.  Employers are most interested in what you have been doing in your most recent job.

    For medical graduates however your most recent significant activity has been your education, so this comes next and this provides yet another opportunity to describe some of the things you have been doing and most importantly have achieved.

    If you do have work history, it’s a very good idea to include some information about this as a bare minimum it demonstrates that you have been employable in the past and in most cases demonstrates many more things about you.

    What Other Headings Should You Use on Your Medical Student Resume?

    Medical Student Resume Page 2

    You will see that I have suggested a range of other headings that you can use both in the short right hand column and after work history.  Other than work and education there is no set rule as to what you should include and where in your Resume.  I would recommend including the next thing that shows your strengths.  So if this is your teaching experience talk about this next. Or if it is the fact that you have already done some decent research, talk about this.

    The only caveat to this is that referees always come last on the resume.

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    3 Specific Areas to Focus In Your Medical Student Resume For a Rural Internship

    Picking appropriate referees, describing achievements and writing a compelling personal statement are key to all resumes.  Let’s talk about how to make them relevant in your resume application.

    Referee Selection

    When I speak to medical students about the need to have referees on their resume, they often get caught up in the need to have well-known consultants as referees on their resume.

    This is not the case. And often times your exposure to brand name consultants who really get to know you is limited anyway.

    It’s more important to focus on a having a diverse range of referees that have recent and relevant knowledge of you.

    A mixture such as a consultant, a registrar and a Nurse Unit Manager or even a professional staff member from your medical school is generally fine.  But try to ensure that there is at least one female and one female on your list.  And aim for at least some of these people to have had decent exposure to you in the last 12 months or so.

    In terms of relevancy for a rural internship, it may seem an obvious point but having people listed who work in rural areas is going to go a long way in terms of your candidacy.  Here’s something that you probably don’t know.  The rural hospitals in NSW that take internships have strong networks with each other.  The JMO Managers and Directors of Training at these hospitals generally know each other on a first name basis.  This network also usually extends to local clinical school staff.  So, if you are able to put someone like a Clinical Dean on your resume this will go a long way for you.

    Educational Achievements 

    One of the more tedious parts to read of most doctor resumes is their work history and education history. It’s almost 99% a list of rotations and responsibilities, which says nothing about how they actually performed.

    By all means give a quick summary of where you were for each of your years of medical school.  But quickly focus in on the things that you particularly did that prove that you are suited for a rural medical career.  There are some obvious candidates here, such as spending a year at a rural clinical school or being a member of a rural club.

    Less obvious might be parts of your course where you focused on generalist medical skills and methods of delivering health care.

    If possible, list at least a couple of things under your education history that show you can get things done.  This does not necessarily need to directly link to rural health.  But is a bonus if it can.  I like the SMART acronym for this.

    Try to describe your achievement end ensure you are Specific about what your achievement was. That you can Measure the success of your achievement. That you can describe your specific Actions in that achievement. And that you can describe the Result and Timeframe in which it occurred.

    So, here is an example that demonstrates SMART,

    “In my final year of medical school, we were set a group task to deliver a presentation on the differences between urban and rural mental health outcomes.  I noticed that we were having some initial trouble as a group in developing individual roles and accountability. So, I volunteered to act as the secretary of the group to ensure better coordination of group roles and tasks. This had an almost immediate effect on improving group dynamics and ultimately contributed to our group delivering the project ahead of time, gaining a higher distinction for our project and being selected as one of two groups to present our findings at the end of the year.”

    You will notice that the example doesn’t really touch much on medical knowledge or skills, but demonstrates skills and values such as emotional intelligence, professionalism, and a desire to achieve success as part of a team.  These are all highly desirable characteristics for employers.

    In terms of competencies that you could demonstrate in your resume I recommend you review the CanMEDS framework [http://www.royalcollege.ca/rcsite/canmeds/canmeds-framework-e] for further inspiration.

    Personal Statements

    Finally, we come to the personal statement.  There is a lot to personal statements.  So if you want to explore them more fully I have written more about the topic on the AdvanceMed Blog (advancemed.com.au).  However, I think for rural preferential internship there are 2 unique ways to go with your personal statement.

    Some of the medical graduates applying for rural interest will be from a rural background and the remaining will have an interest in rural health.

    For the first group. Those with a rural background. This is a strong selling point. The evidence around rural background and the rural training pipeline is well-known to rural hospitals and they are actively seeking candidates from this group as they know they have a high chance of becoming more permanent than just completing a year of internship and residency.  So, it’s definitely worth weaving this into your personal statement.

    My general formula for the personal statement is to:

    1. Offer some value to the employer.
    2. Show natural progression.
    3. Demonstrate how the opportunity helps you.

    So, for graduates from a rural background you can easily weave your background in at points 2 and 3 of this formula.  In which case you can if you want talk about one or two other key strengths for points 1.

    For example,

    “I bring 4 years of high-quality medical school training with a strong emphasis on communication and teamwork schools, I was also awarded a prize for my academic prowess in the area of surgery.  Having been born and high-schooled in a rural NSW town and spent 50% of my medical school at a rural clinical school, I am very prepared and excited to commence my internship at a rural hospital. A rural internship will also help me with my longer-term career aspiration to be a rural general surgeon.”

    For graduates who do not have a rural background but are interested in rural health you should take the opportunity to point out that a rural internship is the obvious next step for someone interested in rural health and will help you to define a rural career.  But, because you do not have that obvious rural background. I would suggest that its also worth pointing out what specific rural exposure and training you have had so far at Item 1.

    For example,

    “I have spent the last 2 years of medical school studying at 2 separate rural clinical schools. In that time I had developed a good understanding of the challenges for rural health as well as been able to identify that some of my strengths, such as personal communication and working within small and agile teams, are well suited to working in a rural hospital.  My rural hospital experience to date means that I am well prepared to take on a rural internship. Further a rural internship will greatly assist me in my desire to one day become a rural general practitioner.”

  • How to Ace A Video Job Interview – Doctor Interview Video

    How to Ace A Video Job Interview – Doctor Interview Video

    As we turn to measures of social distancing in order to reduce the impact of COVID-19 it’s quite likely that your next job interview will be a video job interview conducted online.  Having spent the past 4 years coaching doctors online, I am uniquely situated to give you some tips on how to ensure that using video for your next job interview does not impede your success.

    If we were to summarise the key things you should be thinking about when invited to a video job interview via a video link they would be as follows: 1. Treat the interview with the same level of seriousness and preparation that you would any other job interview 2. Practice with the technology beforehand and make sure everything is running well beforehand 3. Have backup plans in place in case the technology fails 4. Be aware of additional things you will need to consider such as your background and lighting.

    Shortly I will dive into these video job interview tips with a bit more detail to ensure that you are correctly set up.  But before I do this let’s talk about why your success in being able to cope with a video interview might also be important.

    Can You Handle Technology?

    For most jobs these days being an adept end-user of technology is important.  Employers don’t want to spend lots of time training you how to use common technology when they can probably find other candidates who can already do so. Medicine, the area that I work in is no different.

    So I am going to go out on a bit of a limb here and suggest that we will see a couple of recruitment trends arising out of the COVID-19 crisis:

    1. Employers will move over to interviewing more candidates on video and many won’t go back as they will discover benefits from this approach.
    2. The ability for candidates to handle the use of video will be taken as a proxy for their general overall level of skill in information technology.

    Why Employers Will Love Video Interviewing

    I predict that once employers embrace video interviewing they will soon discover that it offers great benefits over traditional interviewing.  A key issue will be flexibility. Candidates will be able to more flexibly attend interviews and panel members will also be more flexible in their attendance.  

    Some video interview systems even allow candidates to lodge their answers to questions independent of the panel, who can then come in and review the recordings later.

    This type of approach can be used to ensure that all panel members have reviewed the candidates even if they are not in the same room at the same time, which can be a compliance issue for recruitment in some industries.

    Why Your Ability To Use Video Technology Is Important

    In a traditional face-to-face job interview, your oral communication is normally assessed by the panel as part of your overall performance.  From this assessment, implications are made about your general ability to communicate. These assessments will often be wrong as communication performance in a stressful job interview is often unlikely to correlate with normal day-to-day communication.

    In the same vein, you might be the most technology literate candidate but if you are seemingly struggling with the video technology you will probably be judged by the panel, in this case unfairly, that you will have big problems using the technology in the workplace.

    So let’s look at how you can turn this potential bias into an advantage for you.

    1. Treat A Video Interview the Same As Any Normal Job Interview

    The mantra has always been that you should always attend the interview in person if at all possible  And there are good reasons for this. So much communication is missed if you are not there live. Particularly body language, which can go a long way to interpreting cues from the interview panel, for e.g. “are they liking my answer right now or not?”

    But having worked in online video platforms now for the past four years let me reassure you that the technology is definitely catching up quickly and whilst it will probably never really completely replace an in-person interview. If you use the right technology and the right approach you can definitely come very close, even to the point of being able to see most of the important body language cues.

    This is why my first tip has completely nothing to do with the actual medium or technology but a reminder that you should be treating the video interview just the same as any normal job interview.

    This, of course, means things like preparing beforehand, finding out the names of the interview panel beforehand, having the appropriate outfit on, combing your hair, and arriving early to the interview.

    In relation to arriving early. This will generally mean logging into the video platform a few minutes ahead of time. Say for ten minutes. Depending on what platform the interviewer is using you will normally be placed into some form of waiting room until the panel is ready to see you.

    Like most interviews, you can probably safely assume that they will be running behind.  Depending on how familiar they are themselves with the technology they may be way behind!  Remember this year, in particular, a lot of places may be doing this for the first time.

    Whilst you are finding out about the interview panel members’ names also ask about the video platform to be used for the interview.  See below.

    2. Include the Fact That You Are Conducting A Video Job Interview Into Your Preparation

    If you know that your interview is going to be conducted via video it makes sense to actually practice that way. This can be a big advantage for you. Practice answering interview questions using video technology. You can even use something like (my preferred video platform) where you can record your answers and watch them back OR be engaging with an interview coach or colleague online for feedback.

    3. Make Sure You Have a Good Set Up

    I recommend setting up a room in your house or apartment as your interview practice and actual interview space.  If possible use a desktop computer with a fixed camera and either ensure that the inbuilt microphone is suitable or think about getting a USB microphone. 

    In most cases the inbuilt webcams and speakers of a modern desktop PC or laptop are fine so you should not need to add to these.  But if you have something a bit older you may have to upgrade (see below).

    I do suggest improving your microphone and speakers over the use of headsets and earplugs and the like.  Just because these can be visually distracting and take away from a professional look. For this reason, discrete wireless earbuds are more preferred over anything with wires or which can be more obviously seen.

    Make sure this desktop PC is on a desk that allows you to sit at it comfortably with easy access to the mouse, keyboard and some space to put documents down, in case you need to be referring to something during the interview.

    If you don’t have a desktop PC then your next best option is a laptop. Again try to sort out an area where you can have this sitting in your house for practice and particularly look at the section about framing below.

    A tablet is the next best option.  If so, you need to be able to fix it in a position somehow.  You definitely don’t want to be holding it selfie-style during an interview.

    If at all possible, avoid doing the interview on a smartphone.

    Here are some Amazon options for webcams, speakers, and USB mics based upon the assumption that you are stuck at home and drop-shipping is your best option.

    USB Mic. 

    I like Blue Yetis for a USB Mic.  You can get cheaper versions but if you are going to upgrade I reckon it’s best to get something with good audio quality.

    WebCam.

    The Logitech Brio is a good multipurpose WebCam that has the ability to record in 4K and decent inbuilt microphones which can avoid you needing to also purchase a USB microphone.

    Speakers

    You probably don’t need to go all out to improve your speaker quality.  Again here’s an option from logitech.

    4. Get Your Framing Right

    framing for video interview
    make sure your face is in the centre of view but they can also see your shoulders and hands.

    You should spend some time getting the framing of your video capture correct.

    Test your eye level and make sure you are positioned correctly in the frame. While it’s ideal to have your medical school or college degrees or awards on display, they shouldn’t be the sole focus on-camera—you should be! 

    You don’t want to connect to the conference call only to find that the other participants can’t see you properly or that half your face is cut off onscreen. In addition, having your eye level too high or too low can make it difficult for the other callers to effectively communicate with you for the duration of the conference. 

    So it’s crucial that you double-check this before you begin. The best positioning is to have your face firmly in the centre of the frame with your torso visible so that your hand gestures can also be observed.

    As for the angle, the camera should be placed at your eye level or just above. If you are using a laptop, place something beneath it to raise it until your eyes are at the same level as the camera lens.

    5. Declutter Your Background

    Make sure your background is uncluttered and professional. Less is more. Get rid of all the family pictures hanging on the wall. The same goes for anything that can make you look unprofessional — clutter, clothes, piles of boxes, and food and beverages.

    Sit at your desk and take a selfie or a screenshot of what others see in your background. Or use the inbuilt webcam to guide you.

    Remove objects on your desk or on your wall that may detract. If you have windows behind you make sure that the lighting is ok (generally lighting coming from behind will make your face dark which is not ideal).  If what’s behind you is something else. Think about whether you need to set up a screen.

    6. Check Your Lighting

    Lights and angles are as important for video calls as they are for professional photoshoots. As a general rule, avoid fluorescent lights, which can cast unflattering shadows. Avoid overhead lights, too, as they can create dark under-eye shadows.

    Place your primary light source behind your camera. This way, the light and the camera point in the same direction. You could also use two light sources behind the camera, one on the right side, one on the left.

    7. Make Sure You Have Good Bandwidth

    Now is the time to upgrade your bandwidth (if possible) if it’s not great. If that’s not possible consider your options for other things like 4G.

    A good way to test whether your bandwidth sufficiency is to try testing the actual platform you are going to use. 

    8. Practice With Their Technology

    You may have a preferred video platform but you will probably not be allowed to use this and be asked to use whatever the employer prefers. Some employers who are well adept at this process will probably send you some information about how you can test out the platform or even arrange a quick time to test it with you.

    As mentioned earlier you should try to find out beforehand what platform the interview will be held on.

    9. Have a Back-Up Plan If Everything Goes All Wrong

    Technology can and does fail. It is important to plan to have some redundancy. In particular, have a backup plan for when the internet fails.  Practice setting up a 4G hotspot and being able to switch over quickly in case you need to.

    Also, anticipate that the technology that the interviewers are utilising will fall over. Enquire as to whether there is a backup plan, for e.g. switching to a phone call, if so what number should you call in on?

    10. Get Their Framing Right

    This might be a little harder to do than getting your framing right.  But once you log in to the interview check whether you can adequately see all members of the interview panel.  They may be in one room or possible also joining remotely.

    If someone is too far off in the distance (so that you can’t see their lips move when they talk) you can at least politely enquire whether it’s possible for them to adjust the camera.

    11. Stare Into the Camera

    A really good tip for making the video interview seem like a real interview is to be aware of where you are looking.  Often you are looking at your screen to see who is talking to you. But this may well be then taking your eyes away from your camera.

    Try to bring the video frame that you are looking into the centre of your screen so that you can still be looking as directly as possible into the camera.  Most webcams have a light to show that they are on. If you stare right at this light it will ensure that you are making eye contact with the other side.

    12. Never Blame the Technology

    A key rule of interviews is to keep things positive and never make excuses or blame anyone or anything else.  This extends to technology. If despite all your and their best efforts the technology is just not working then it’s best to just soldier on in a positive way. 

    Related Questions.

    Question. What’s the Best Platform For Conducting Video Interviews.

    Answer. There are now many great platforms for meeting up online.  The one I prefer to use is .  There’s a range of reasons for this but key amongst these are:

    • its ease of setting up and use
    • its integration with many other applications
    • its reliability

    With the paid version of you can also record your sessions.

  • 11 Top Tips For Preparing For A Doctor Job Interview With Videos

    11 Top Tips For Preparing For A Doctor Job Interview With Videos

    Are you a doctor preparing for an upcoming job interview. Or are you contemplating your next career move? For many doctors, job interviews are a regular and even annual process. For some doctors, they can act as an annoyance (i.e. why do I need to reinterview for my job). For other doctors, they can be nerve-wracking (i.e. I really would like this prized training or consultant post). Very few doctors would actually say that they enjoy the process of a job interview. Yet job interviews are crucial for our career progression. Here are some top tips for doctor job interviews.

    As someone who has literally interviewed well over a thousand doctors for jobs and now prepared over 500 doctors with interview training and interview coaching, I’d like to give you a hand by outlining my top 11 tips for preparing for a doctor job interview. AND. At the bottom of this post (to encourage you to read the post) I have also placed a link to some free training you can take to prepare you for the doctor job interview.

    So first, let’s look at the most important tips for how you should best prepare for a doctor job interview. Unsurprisingly, practice and preparation is the most important tip that you can implement to ensure your success at your next doctor job interview. But try not to make this practice unfocused. It’s important to understand that there are key aspects and components of any job interview and it is much more effective if you spend time practising each of these. This is the same principle for how high-performance athletes achieve success in their sporting careers.

    Okay, let’s dig in a bit deeper now to these tips starting with the most obvious starting point. Practice and Preparation.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #1

    top tips for doctor job interviews

    Practising Is The Number One Tip For Preparing For Your Next Doctor Job Interview.

    It should go without saying but the absence of practice and preparation generally leads to underperformance and is the number one reason for job candidates being unhappy with the result of their interview.

    Yet. Surprisingly many doctors do not practice or prepare for job interviews. In fact a poll, we are running on a related post indicates that well over 2/3 of doctors either did not prepare at all or only prepared the night before for their last job interview!

    Think about that a bit more. What this means is that if you actually do some practice you are probably boosting your chances significantly and likely elevating yourself to the top third of candidates. Just by taking the process seriously.

    But how long should you practice for a doctor job interview? The answer to this question is a bit more complicated than you would initially think. But in general, the best advice would be to give yourself at least a few weeks and try to do a number of actual interview practice sessions in that space of time. At least some of these practice sessions should incorporate some form of feedback.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #2

    Make Sure You Practice The Smart Way.

    But it’s not just about the amount of practice. It’s how you practice. When a high performing athlete attempts to improve their performance they don’t just do more competitions or play more games. They do things smarter. They engage in what is called deliberate practise (usually with a coach). They break the components of their sport down to more definable elements and concentrate on improving one of these at a time.

    The same should apply to your interview preparation and practice. You need to spend time mastering the various elements of an interview. Elements such as:

    • beginning the interview
    • talking about yourself
    • providing examples
    • answering hypothetical questions
    • not getting flustered by an unanticipated question
    • giving each panel member attention
    • wrapping up the interview

    Trying to practice doing all of these things at once is going to lead you to become overwhelmed and likely to give up. Conversely, the point where you feel bored in practising one of these elements is probably the best indication that you should move on to another element.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #3

    Read The Position Description Several Times.

    It’s surprising how many doctors tell me that they are uncertain about what the panel is actually looking for. When the answer is actually staring you in the face.

    Best employment practice (which is often backed up by strict policies and guidelines) guides selection panels to ask questions looking for evidence that meets the advertised selection criteria for the role.

    So if you understand the job description and, in particular, the selection criteria. You will understand what the panel is looking for. And be far less surprised by the sorts of questions you get.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #4

    Prepare Examples Based On The Selection Criteria.

    Trust me on this one. You are much less likely to be thrown by an interview question if you have taken the time to prepare an example that fits each of the selection criteria.

    At a bare minimum, you will at least have something relevant-ish to talk about whilst you are trying to work out exactly what they are asking in that curveball question.

    But more likely your answer to any question will now start with the phrase “Yes, I can actually think of an example that demonstrates that particular issue”.

    Of course. Not all interview questions directly ask you for an example. But even if it’s a hypothetical question it’s rare for the panel to knock back an actual real-world example that shows your competency in that particular area.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #5

    Practice Common Questions.

    Following on from the above point it’s important to practice common questions that generally come up in the interview. Medical job interview practices are remarkably stable. I generally see the same types of questions being asked across various jobs and consistently across time as well. A good starting point is to find out from past candidates what they have been asked before.

    Make sure you are prepared to answer particularly common questions like:

    • Can you give an example of work conflict?
    • What would you do if your colleague was upset?
    • How have you prepared for the role? and
    • Do you have any questions for us?

    With the help of past candidates, we have collected over 600 past interview questions in our interview question bank.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #6

    Prepare For The Most Common Starting Question.

    Without a doubt, in the majority of most doctor job panel interviews, the most common opening question is some version of providing the panel with an overview of your strengths and fitness for the role.

    Most commonly asked in a very lazy way “Tell Us About Yourself?”

    Even if you are participating in a multiple mini interview process there will be stations and questions where you need to be able to talk succinctly to your strengths and fitness for the role. So it’s important to be able to answer this type of question well.

    There are a number of methods for doing this. Most notably the CAMP method. But it’s important to understand and practice these frameworks well before applying them.

    If you would like some training on the opening question. Then there is a free training webinar running over here.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #7

    Your Smile Is Your Secret Weapon.

    Many doctors forget that before you even open your mouth to answer a question, there are lots of things that happen in the interview, which can definitely affect the outcome (see below). One of these is your ability to engage the panel in positive body language.

    The easiest way to do this is to perfect using your smile in the interview. A well-placed smile at the start of the interview will not only convey an aura of positivity, but it will also help you feel more relaxed at the start of the process. And might just also trigger a reciprocated smile from some or all of the panel members.

    Bearing in mind that many panel members make their minds up about candidates in the first few seconds. It’s so much harder to dislike someone if you are smiling at them.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #8

    Get All The Other Details Out Of The Way Early.

    Another way of being more relaxed about your upcoming interview is to handle all those interview-related matters early so you don’t have to stress about them and can concentrate on your actual interview preparation.

    Things like:

    • what outfit you will wear
    • working out how to get to the interview (travel options, parking options)
    • what pieces of paperwork you need to take with you
    • finding out the names of panel members

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #9

    Don’t Arrive Too Early.

    It’s obviously important to not be late for your interview. But did you know that you can also reduce the result by arriving too early?

    Arriving more than 30 minutes could mean that you are bumping into other candidates who are ahead of you in the interview schedule, increasing your anxiety. It could also annoy the interview panel or secretary because they feel that they have to entertain you or offer you a coffee.

    If offered a coffee, politely decline.

    Better yet. If you do arrive a bit early. Check-in at the desk to let them know you have arrived. But then tell them that you are going to stretch your legs for a bit.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #10

    Take Your Time In the Interview.

    Doctor job interviews, particularly the trainee doctor ones, can seem and actually be quite short! So the tendency is to try to rush to ensure that you maximise your time.

    This, however, can be a real error as it often leads to a response that the panel interprets as unsophisticated, rambling and unfiltered.

    It is still possible to give sharp succinct answers if you prepare properly and learn how to provide structure to your responses. More often than not the panel are looking for broad principles rather than detail.

    Top Tips for Doctor Job Interviews #11

    Ask For Feedback At The End Of The Interview.

    Asking for feedback after the interview process is inevitably unsatisfying. The panel has usually forgotten the details of your interview by that time. And all they have at their disposal normally is a bunch of handwritten notes, which they may feel uncomfortable interpreting for you.

    The best time to ask for feedback is at the actual end of the interview. You might choose to use this approach as your final question to the panel. If so try to be specific, ask if there was a particular question you did badly on. If there was, perhaps there’s an opportunity to add to your answer.

    Asking for feedback at the end signals that you are both interested in and open to feedback in order to improve. Which is generally considered a good employee character trait.

    Need More Help Preparing For Your Next Doctor Job Interview?

    With the above tips, you should be able to more effectively prepare for your next interview. But if you are looking for more guidance and help to even better prepare we mentioned above that there is some free training currently available.

    If you would like to take advantage of this training just click on the link below.

    Related Questions.

    Question. If I am thinking about getting a coach to help me with my interview preparation what should I be looking for?

    Answer. A coach is a really good idea for interview preparation. In fact, one of the problems that often cause candidates to seek me out is that in past attempts they have relied on other types of people for feedback, such as family and colleagues. Often this type of feedback can be misleading and worsen your performance. There are lots to consider in choosing a good coach. Price is obviously one. But like in most situations you generally get the quality that you pay for. So don’t just choose the cheapest coach. Look for coaches who can provide good testimonials and references from past clients. Look for coaches who have had actual experience in coaching others for the type of interview you are facing. Coaches who offer a free or discounted initial session are often a good choice as they wouldn’t generally do this if they were not confident in the service they provide. Finally don’t just choose a coach in your local area. There are actually not that many really good interview coaches in a place like Australia. You are far more likely to find a good coach by looking for online coaching options. Online coaching has a number of benefits over attending a live session. For one it eliminates travel. Secondly, often you can get more convenient booking times. And finally, you generally can also get a record of your session to review later.

    Question. Are there any good places to find interview questions to practice on?

    Answer. You will generally find that if you look online and ask within your networks that you will be able to get your hands on some interview questions to prepare on. It’s important however that you do vet these questions. Make sure that they are relevant to the selection criteria and other information about the selection process. Questions from last year are likely to still be based around the same process. But questions from 5 years ago are probably not. To help you get started we have collected over 900 questions from a range of job interview types in Medicine on our AdvanceMed Question Bank
  • Mobilizing the Doctor Workforce to Fight COVID-19 Should Include IMGs.

    Mobilizing the Doctor Workforce to Fight COVID-19 Should Include IMGs.

    With recent announcements, it appears that Australia has lost the initial attempt to tightly contain the spread of the coronavirus. Including reports that it is now starting to spread within the health workforce itself. There is a need to consider how we can develop plans to ensure that we have enough doctors, nurses, allied health and other important staff to cope with a predicted environment where there are increased cases of viral illnesses presenting to our health services and large amounts of staff either sick or in isolation.

    It has been suggested that we will need to pull staff from some of the existing pools that we tend to rely upon to deal with shortages, such as locum or casual staff pools. But these sources are often already closely tapped. It has also been suggested that we may need to bring doctors and other health professionals back from leave or out of retirement. Which may help to an extent.

    A Big Group of Doctors Has Not Been Thought About So Far.

    What doesn’t seem to have been considered so far is that there is another large group of doctors already in this country who are champing at the bit to get involved in helping with this potential increased demand on our health system.

    There Are Literally Hundreds of IMGs Who Could Fill Basic Posts In Hospitals.

    According to the latest sources from the Australian Medical Council, there were 660 international medical graduates vetted to commence supervised training posts, as part of what is called the standard pathway process, in 2019 by obtaining what is called the AMC Certificate (normally a 2-step examination process).

    It is difficult to know exactly how many of these doctors have been able to obtain positions. As it is hard to get a link between those who obtained an AMC Certificate and registration status.

    According to the Federal Governments workforce data set, I could only find data on the number of doctors who had completed the AMC process and been granted provisional registration for 2018. The number of completions was 862 and the number provisionally registered that year was 76. Now some of these doctors may have already obtained limited registration, for which there is no accessible data.

    But I think it is reasonably safe to assume, given that the number will accumulate on a yearly basis, that we are talking hundreds if not over a thousand IMG doctors with an AMC Certificate who have not been able to obtain a position. The number of IMGs who contact me in these circumstances backs up this feeling.

    There Are Also Quite a Few Specialist IMGs Who Could Help Out As Well.

    Whilst the data from the Medical Board of Australia is a little bit older we know that in 2018 755 specialist IMG doctors were approved by medical colleges to commence supervised postings to work towards specialist recognition. Whilst in the same year only 614 specialist doctors were recommended or not recommended for specialist recognition. Whilst we are talking separate groups here (i.e. those at the start of the application versus those at the end), again anecdotally I am aware of many IMG specialists who have been granted approval to work as a specialist under supervision who have been now trying for a position for over 2 years.

    So whilst the number of specialist IMGs who have been approved and are still waiting is likely to be far less than those on the standard pathway it is still likely to be in the hundreds of doctors.

    Why Are These Doctors Not Employed Already?

    The problem for most of these doctors is not their lack of competency or capability. This has already been assessed. It’s just that there are limited available places for them and strong and stiff competition for them. When they do get a chance of a job they generally do very well. And are often willing to work in places and circumstances that locally trained doctors do not.

    Many of these doctors would jump at the chance to work for 3 months to help out with our current emerging health system crisis.

    Just to be clear, I am not talking about using or exploiting IMG doctors to help staff temporary virus clinics or our emergency rooms to save local doctors from being exposed. The most logical way to deploy this workforce would be to relieve or fill in for medical staff in regular roles, such as working on hospital wards to ensure that we are able to continue to manage the regular health needs of patients with other conditions.

    What Would Need To Change To Make This Happen?

    One of the big problems with getting IMGs up and running in positions in Australia has always been the bureaucracy involved. This includes paperwork to establish that they are not competing for a post with an Australian trained doctor, paperwork to satisfy the registration requirements and paperwork to obtain a working visa.

    It is important that we maintain a certain standard of care in the registration requirements of doctors. But given that we are anticipating that there will be many vacancies at various levels in the system. It is reasonable to assume that many of these will be in posts that are supervised and supervisable for which an IMG doctor could be deployed.

    Conversely, a system whereby such an IMG doctor could be more quickly be granted a short period of registration (say 3 months) would provide ease for the system but also reduce the risk of such a doctor not being supervised properly.

    It would also then give the IMG actual experience in the Australian health care system, which is something that would tremendously help their resume and case for future employment opportunities.

  • Medical Student Resumes A Written And Video Guide

    Medical Student Resumes A Written And Video Guide

    This is an evolving blog and vlog post specifically about how to write a medical student resume put together by request from a number of medical students who have contacted me asking for this type of information.

    In my experience, many medical students are at a bit of a loss composing a resume in their final years of medical school. There may be a number of reasons for this but high amongst these reasons is the fact that for many it’s their first experience at doing something like this. So before I dive into the details and specifics lets me give you my key tips on how you can get a good medical student resume together.

    1. It’s really helpful to start with a template. Problem is there are not too many that are specifically for medical students. So I’ve supplied you one at the end of this post (to encourage you to read the whole way through).
    2. It’s best to not get caught up with particular headings or what should go where. Just start writing in the sections that you can and get the juices flowing. Leave your personal statement to the very last.
    3. Understand that employers spend only a few seconds the first time they see your resume. So in order to maximise its impact, you need to ensure that important matters are on the first page.
    4. Personal statements can be tricky to construct. Especially the first time you try to do it. For most of us, it’s hard to talk ourselves up. In this article, I have provided a personal statement formula that works well for most doctor’s

    So, if you are a medical student and would like some help with your resume you are in the right place.  And look even if you are not a student you may find some of these tips useful so please feel free to keep reading as we dig a bit deeper.

    What Is Unique About the Medical Student Resume?

    There are a number of unique features of the medical student resume. And I should clarify we are talking here about the one that you put together at the end of your medical school years.  The one you need for your intern application.

    A key unique feature of the medical student resume is that it can be a struggle to show big points of difference at this point.  You might be lucky to have won some awards or have a higher than normal grade point average in your medical school.  But generally, most medical students have the same types of experiences and learn the same things in medical school.  So, this can make it really hard to stand out.

    On the positive side, there is generally less emphasis on the importance of your resume at this point. The key reason for this is that from an employer perspective you have not been tested as yet through work experience. Work experience is a key thing that most employers look at on any candidate’s resume.

    So with a similar educational experience and lack of any work experience (at least as a doctor), it can seem hard to stand out.

    Or can it?

    Describing Competencies Can Boost Your Resume.

    I recently gave a seminar to some 4th-year medical students (students in their penultimate year) at my local university. The talk was about the importance of being well-rounded in one’s medical career and being able to demonstrate a range of competencies on your resume.

    Being able to articulate your competencies and demonstrate evidence for them is a really good way to shine on your resume. The problem is many medical students and doctors alike don’t know what competency is. Which is a real shame as competencies underpin much of what is currently occurring in medical training.

    The framework I like for describing competencies is the CanMEDS framework. I’ve done a few more extended videos about CanMEDS so here’s one of those videos if you want some further details.

    But suffice enough to say, CanMEDS is a thoroughly well-tested model that says that what we are looking for in a good doctor is someone who is not only a medical expert but has strengths in the areas of communication, collaboration, advocating for patients and good health outcomes, scholarship (i.e. teaching, learning and research), being a leader and of course being a professional.

    All good so far when I spoke to my students about this concept.  They could all see that there was more to being a doctor than their medical knowledge and skills.

    BUT they asked me.  How can we actually demonstrate that we have competencies in those areas?

    What are the opportunities we have between now and graduation where we can develop these other competencies more or demonstrate our proficiency?

    Fair enough question.

    So let’s take one of these competencies.  Let’s take communication.

    I have deliberately chosen communication as it can be an extremely difficult competency to write about in a resume.  Yet it’s almost always there as a key selection criterion.

    Lots of doctors (not just medical students) will just write that they are very effective communicators.

    I am a highly effective communicator

    Typical statement seen on a doctor resume which frankly means nothing.

    But so what. Who says?  Where’s the evidence?

    Well. If you think about it for a minute. In medical school, there are actually plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your capability as a communicator and collect evidence for your resume.

    You just have to be strategic and have a bit of a plan.

    If you just rely on what the medical school says to guide your learning you are going to miss these opportunities that I am now going to point out for you.

    Communication Opportunity Number 1.

    Communication Training sessions.

    Most medical schools these days incorporate specific sessions or training around communication.  Engage in these sessions.  Find out what the curriculum or learning outcomes are for them.  Write these learning outcomes down in a logbook or a diary somewhere.

    Go into these sessions with a specific goal in mind.  If, for example, you feel that you want to work on counseling patients, as part of your communication training.  Tell the teacher of the workshop this at the start and ask if there is a specific opportunity in the session for you to practice this aspect of your communication.

    Write a short reflective piece about what you learned as a reminder and reinforcer.

    Now. When it comes to putting your resume together you suddenly have something substantial to write.

    For example,

    as a communicator, I was trained and assessed in my medical school training to be an effective and patient-centred listener and communicator. I learnt the benefits and utility of various communication techniques, including both open and closed questions.  I learnt how to successfully handle difficult communication challenges, such as breaking bad news or enquiring about suicide. A personal goal for me in all of this was to achieve high-quality counselling skills, which I am pleased to say I was able to achieve so that I am competent in a range of counselling situations for interns, including discharge planning, the impact of lifestyle on health, and discussing common medications and their possible side effects.

    Communication Opportunity Number 2.

    End of Term Reports.

    Most medical schools will require that you get some sort of end-of rotation or end-of-term supervisor report. Use these to collect feedback and information about your communication strengths and weak points.

    I would encourage all medical students to start out each rotation again with a few clear learning goals in mind.  If communication is one of these.  Make sure that this is clear to the consultant and the trainee doctors and other team members that you are working with.

    Be as specific as possible about what it is that you are wanting to work on.  And encourage them to be as specific as possible.

    So again, going back to our previous example. Perhaps you want feedback on your counseling skills. Say this upfront and your team will most likely help construct opportunities to practise these skills and get feedback.

    At the end of this rotation and others.  You will then hopefully have meaningful comments in your supervisor reports which you can use on your resume.  Check with your supervisor about your end-of-term reports before the term wraps up.  Make sure that you are provided with plenty of written feedback.

    Then when it comes to putting together your resume.  You have more to write about.

    For example,

    across my last 2 clinical years of medical school, my supervisor reports consistently showed that I excelled in communication.  I was signed off as competent in being able to gather a relevant history, make appropriate file notes, complete an effective discharge summary, conduct a handover and do basic patient counselling.

    Communication Opportunity Number 3.

    So, my final opportunity for you to both enhance your communication and demonstrate it on your resume might be seen as a little bit more unorthodox than the last 2 suggestions.

    But I’d encourage you to consider this one.

    As someone who has interviewed thousands of doctors over time for various jobs.  There are few things that speak more highly about someone’s communication skills than actual patient feedback.

    Very few doctors bother to gather feedback from patients about things like communication.

    So here is a really great opportunity for you to stand out.

    Think about putting together a short survey or questionnaire for the patients you are seeing.  Make sure of course that you consider issues of consent and privacy. It’s probably best not to collect any demographics or even case details.

    Whenever you see a patient ask them if they would mind filling out a quick survey about your communication.

    Very quickly you will be able to compile a useful set of data and information that will probably show you your areas of strength (which you can now point out on your resume) and areas for improvement.

    For example,

    During medical school I also conducted a survey of 20 patients who indicated that I was an effective listener, was able to communicate in lay language and that they would be more than happy with having me as their intern.

    So there you go.

    Some tips about how to talk about your communication on your CV.  Some of these you may be able to act based on existing data that you have collected.  Some may require you to think about the remainder of your medical student days.

    Personal Statements

    One of the most crucial elements of any resume is your personal statement or what is sometimes referred to as your career goal statement.

    If you don’t know what a personal statement is. It’s that piece of narrative text that normally immediately follows your name and brief details on your resume and summarizes you as a job applicant.

    Other names for personal statements are:

    • Personal summary
    • Personal profile, and
    • Career goal statement

    Now. If you have watched any of my videos about CVs and resumes you will know how important I view your personal statement to be. It’s possibly the most important part of your resume.

    And personal statements are even more important. If that’s possible. When it comes to medical student resumes.

    This is because you have no formal on-the-job experience as a doctor. Which is normally the next most critical part of your resume.

    Benefits of Personal Statements on Medical Student Resumes.

    So, let’s talk first briefly about the benefits of a personal statement and we will go over how you should construct your personal statement.

    The benefits of a personal statement really boil down to one big thing, which is your ability to control the narrative of your resume.

    Think about it. If a prospective employer has not met you before. And they are reviewing your resume along with a bunch of others. Having a quick snappy well-written summary at the top of your resume is like gold to them.

    It saves them time by giving them key things that they need to know.

    Think of it as the abstract on a research paper or an executive summary on a report. How many times have you read one or other of these and then not even bothered reading the rest of the paper or report? Or possibly just skimmed the rest. I’m betting it’s at least 9 times out of 10.

    People only have limited memories and like it or not they are going to try to simplify you. To make it easier on them. So what is better than to control this simplification through the use of a well-constructed and controlled statement on the top of your resume?

    Why not control the narrative of your career rather than them making it up by hopping all over your CV?

    And even if they do know you. Which happens a lot in medicine. The summary is still going to help them in that simplification. As they really know everything about you.

    So that’s why a personal statement is crucial.

    Let’s now talk about how to construct one.

    How to Construct a Personal Statement for Your Medical Student Resume.

    So, in order to construct your personal statement, you are going to need a few other things as well.

    First. You should ideally have written at least the first draft of your resume already. You need that. Because personal statements should link to the other components of your resume.

    Secondly. You should also ideally have a position description. Now, this may be hard depending on where you are located. If you are in Australia or New Zealand you are normally applying for an intern position at a number of locations across these two countries so there may not be a clear job description. In the UK it may be a similar issue applying for foundation posts. For residency applications in North America, there may be a job description available for the post.

    Normally there is some form of document that has the selection criteria on it. Which is what we are looking for.

    What we are endeavouring to do is match our best strengths to the job and tailor our resume and statement as much as possible.

    So, once you know what the key things the employer is looking for. Think about the key strengths or key skills that you have in your resume which match these criteria.

    We have already talked about one of these in our previous topic about talking about communication in your resume.

    Communication almost always comes up as a key selection criterion for intern and resident posts. It’s so crucial that you have good communication skills.

    A Formula for Great Personal Statements.

    My formula for personal statements is as follows:

    First off start by telling them what you can offer them. What value you do you bring. It’s really important that you lead with this first. Employers are looking for people who can add value to their organisation even if it is future potential. You are being respectful by offering something first.

    So for example as a medical student you might say something like:

    I have recently graduated from one of Australia’s most innovative medical school training programs where I developed strong clinical capabilities along with excellent communication and teamwork skills as evidenced by high ratings in communications workshops and excellent supervisor reports which I have listed in my resume.

    It’s important that you provide some measure justification for your strengths even if it is referring to someone independent, particularly with something like communication.

    The second part is that you need to show them why this position is a natural next step or fit for you. Now, this is relatively easy to do for a medical student resume. But there is an opportunity to personalise things a bit.

    For example,

    In seeking this internship opportunity, I would strongly welcome the opportunity to work in your hospital as I feel that I have already developed a strong understanding of the organisation through my 12 months on placement.

    Finally, you want to leave them with a personal reason for why you feel you are a good fit for this particular job. Now, this may be a little bit hard if your resume has to be submitted to a number of hospitals at the same time. So, it might be a little difficult to personalise it down to that level. But if you can then do so.

    One way of achieving this is to make your personal statement a career goal statement.

    Converting from Personal Statement to Career Goal Statement.

    So, we can do this by finishing off our personal statement by talking about where we see this job helping us or taking us into the future (let’s say in about 3 to 5 years time).

    For example

    Working at this hospital will, in particular, give me a strong opportunity to develop my passion for general medicine as it is one of the few tertiary facilities in the State that has retained a general medicine department. Ultimately, I would love to do my basic physician training at your institution.

    If you can point out something that’s good about the hospital and make reference to seeing yourself working there for a good while then employers love that.

    So that’s one example of a medical student resume personal statement.

    Because it can be hard to craft one of these the first time. Let me leave you with a couple of more examples.

    Example of A Personal Statement for a Doctor Targetting a Rural Internship.

    I offer a commitment to rural medicine.

    Example of a Personal Statement for a Medical Graduate Targetting a Hospital With a Particular Program.

    Referees.

    Now that you’re entering the final years of medical school, it’s time to start preparing for your transition to becoming a “real doctor”. In Australia, we call this the internship. But you might refer to it as other things like your residency or foundation program. Depending on where you are in the world.

    Now the requirements for applying for an intern post vary a little bit depending on where you are applying.

    But one thing that most of you will need to consider is having referees for your application.

    So in this section, I’m going to talk about.

    • How to go about finding referees.
    • What sort of referees you should consider.
    • And of course how to list your referees on your resume.

    References are required for intern applications in most States and territories of Australia. But they’re not required in New South Wales if you’re going through the general application system. But if you are applying for the rural preferential system, they are required.

    So basically, most Australian medical students need referees.

    What exactly is a referee?

    Basically. A referee is someone who agrees to have their name and contact details listed on your application and resume so that the selection panel can contact them to ask questions about you.

    These questions might just to confirm that you are who you say you are. Or may go quite a bit deeper seeking to validate things you say about yourself on your application and get a better feel for how you operate from another person’s perspective.

    So, it’s pretty important to choose your referees wisely. More about this soon.

    Now the first thing you should be thinking about before you get to selecting referees is to be thinking where you might be applying for with your internship and checking out all the requirements that there are including what sort of documents you may need to submit.

    In general, you will need to submit the names of at least two people who can vouch for the fact that you’ve been a medical student and preferably talk more about you than that.

    It’s generally wise also to have a third referee just in case.

    In most cases, it’s ok for your referees to be supervisors that you’ve worked with, a faculty member or even something like a professional staff member. It’s best to have at least one medical professional as a referee.

    In a few cases, there may be requirements are for all of your referees to be medical professionals, particularly in certain other countries. So again, you need to check out the actual requirements.

    How to Approach Potential Referees As A Medical Student.

    So here’s my suggestion for how you should go about collecting referees.

    After you’ve completed a placement or rotation, you should consider approaching your supervisor to ask if they would be happy to act as a referee for you.

    Explain to them carefully that you don’t need them to do anything at this point.

    It may even be that they just need to be listed as a name on your application. Just write down their contact details including:

    • The correct spelling of their name
    • Their title or position in the hospital or facility
    • Their best email and phone number

    Is preferable to get a mobile or cell number, if they’re happy to give this. Tell your referee that you may need to contact them in a few month’s time to act as a referee. Make sure they don’t get too carried away now and start writing you a letter of reference (unless you truly think that you may use this).

    In my experience, in most cases, referees for internship posts are not actually contacted or just quickly contacted to verify you are who you say you are.

    Now. Before you end this rotation. Think about the other members of the team. Who did you get on well with? Who did you respect? Could they also be a good potential referee?

    Think about specialty trainee doctors, Nurse Managers and Allied Health staff.

    Repeat the step you just went through with your supervisor to ask these people for a reference.

    Pretty soon in a very little amount of time, you will have a bunch of options for referees for your resume and application.

    Does Brand Recognition Matter for Medical Student Referees?

    Now. Some people say it’s a good idea to collect the names of well-known people as your referee. You might call this going for “brand recognition” on your resume.

    In my experience, particularly for the internship applications, it makes little difference whether you have a well-known person on your resume.

    What is more important are a few other matters.

    Recency, Relevancy and Diversity Matter More for References on Medical Student Resumes.

    When selecting your referees it’s a good idea to think about 3 key points

    • Recency
    • Relevancy
    • Diversity

    Let’s unpack that a bit more.

    Recency

    Recency is about having referees with up to date knowledge of your performance. As a medical student, you probably have a number of options here. Try to ensure that your referees have had some contact with you in the last couple of years. And in particular, make sure that one has had a good view of your performance in the last 12 months.

    Relevancy

    Relevancy is about someone speaking to the role that you are going into. Amongst your referees, you ideally need one or two who have an idea about the job you are going to perform. Clearly, for a prospective intern, this means having at least one medical referee. But think about this more deeply. Are you perhaps applying for a rural internship? If so, it really makes sense to have at least one rural doctor as a referee who can attest to your aptitude for rural medicine.

    Diversity

    Diversity. is probably the most often overlooked of the criteria. You don’t need to have all doctors on your resume. And these doctors don’t need to be all-male consultants over 50. A good way to show that you can work well in a diverse health team is to have a range of referees on your resume. At least one male and female is a good start. But think also about registrars, as well as nursing staff, allied health and managers. Often these people get a much better look at you than a consultant. So make a more effective referee anyway.

    How to Know If A Referee Will Be a Good Referee.

    I am often asked how to tell whether a certain referee will be a good referee. The best way to assess whether someone will act as a good referee for you is the direct approach. Ask them.

    Ask them what they would say about you if approached for a reference. Most people will be honest with you. If someone feels like that they can’t give you a great reference they will probably say so. And you will likely learn something vital about yourself in doing so.

    It’s worth noting, however, that you probably don’t want someone as a referee who tends to be really overenthusiastic about your performance (to the point where you don’t feel you merit at all their praise). This may come across as lacking in authenticity when they are rung up.

    From a recent literature review, I was involved in there was some small (limited) evidence that choosing a more junior or younger referee may provide a more positive reference. But honestly, I wouldn’t make this the key criteria for choosing your referee. Because as I say the evidence was small in its significance at best.

    Finally, you are probably wondering how to go about listing your referee on your resume.

    How to List Your Referees On Your Medical Student Resume

    Example of how to list your referees

    Basic Physician Trainee example:

    Dr Michael Reeves (FRACP) Cardiologist and current supervisor, Regional Hospital, Regional City 0444 555 666 777, email@advancemed.com.au

    Of note, you want the name, their title, where they work and a mobile number and email address for contact. You don’t need to include all of their qualifications. But anything that relates to your job application (in this case we are wanting to become a Fellow of the RACP) can go in. If it is unclear from your work history how this person knows you make sure this is explained as well.

    So remember:

    • Recency
    • Relevancy
    • Diversity

    Describing Your Education and Other Achievements

    One thing that is unique about a medical student resume over other doctors resumes is the absence of work history. Or at least the absence of medical work history. It’s one of the rare situations where it generally makes sense to put education next after your personal statement.

    But don’t forget to include any substantial work history. That job you did in a previous life as a management consultant for Deloitte’s might just be the big thing that stands you out over other candidates.

    In terms of describing your education history. Much the same as for your work history. You should see this as an opportunity to highlight your ability to perform and achieve.

    Don’t just put down a list of your medical curriculum requirements. This is boring and the employer will just assume that you did the same thing as everyone else at your school.

    Try to find opportunities to show that you can stand out and did more.

    For example, was there a particular clinical rotation where you were given some additional responsibility? Or perhaps took on a small audit for the unit. Or did you take on a leadership role in your medical society and did you actually achieve something in that role?

    Be SMARTE

    Use the acronym SMARTE to describe your achievements.

    SMARTE stands for

    • Specific task or Situation: describe the actual task including specific details. Create a “mental picture” of the accomplishment.
    • Measurable details and Metrics: quantify the accomplishment use facts, figures, dates, and percentages.
    • Actions taken and your Actual role: talk about your actual involvement in the change, were you in charge? did you take on a key role? did you show initiative? Acknowledge team contributions wherever possible (Medicine is a team game) but make it clear that you made an active contribution to the teams’ success.
    • Results achieved and deliverables defined: describe the overall outcome or final product, it’s overall quality compared to some important benchmark, inform the reader if you received any positive recognition for the work.
    • Timeframe to accomplish the task and the Team involved: talk about the time to create the outcome and the other members of the team. Especially if you met your objectives in a period of time that was under pressure (where it often was) or earlier than expected. And if you displayed good teamwork skills in getting other members on board.
    • Environment, culture and underlying circumstances: talk about the challenges that may have been present in the environment and how you overcome barriers.

    Now not every achievement will have all of SMARTE in it. But the more the better.

    Here is an examples

    During my Cardiology term as a final year medical student, I was placed on one of the State’s busiest units.  On a weekly basis I was regularly helping the intern to clerk 24 inpatients along with attending the weekly general outpatient clinic, 2 stress test sessions per week (some of which I was permitted to conduct under supervision) and following the registrar for an average 2 consults per day. I learnt a lot during this time.

    Now not everyone has hard cold factual achievements that they can list under their work history.  But even something like being praised in a supervisor report for something is better than you just providing a list of responsibilities.

    If you have learnt and developed certain skills or capabilities then its also ok to put these down.

    My paediatric term in combination with the APLS course I attended helped me to become comfortable in managing sick children.

    Don’t forget it doesn’t have to be about your academic work. It could be:

    That you managed to get your research project accepted to a peer reviewed publication.

    Or that you dedicated extra time to developing up a teaching program in your school.  But if you have don’t just say you started a program. How many students did you have? How many teaching sessions did you provide etc…

    In terms of extra things. There are a few don’ts or things to avoid.

    Don’t put down extra responsibilities without talking about the achievements.

    A classic is being a member of a certain committee.  If that committee did nothing the year you were on it (as many do). Best not to put this down as you have basically just shown that you like to contribute to inefficiency.

    If however that committee fixed something important then take some credit for this.

    Putting It All Together

    Once you have the content of your Resume pulled together you should first go back and review your personal statement and make sure it fits with the rest of your resume and has all the gems in it.

    Then its time to assemble. It’s essential that you compile it in a way that ensures that the most important information is presented first. In particular that you maximise what is on your first page. As this is the page that employers will spend most of their time on.

    Things that should go on your first page include:

    • Your name, which should be the biggest thing.
    • Short qualifications
    • Contact details
    • Personal statement
    • Education history

    You may have other things you wish to include but these generally will come on the next pages.

    There are lots of options for doing this but either an online CV-builder or a document template will probably ensure that you stick to a simple and professional style and format.

    Templates that have 2 columns often work better as they allow you to set out information well but increase what is included on the first page.

    In terms of online CV builders here are 3 that we recommend:

    VisualCV

    Resume.Io

    novoresume

    A Medical Student Resume Template

    Click here to go to a related post where we have a template waiting for you.

    Related Questions

    Question. Am I limited to listing just one strength in my personal statement?

    Answer. No. But you will probably find it hard to provide strengths for all of the criteria. So it’s best to limit yourself to 2 to 3 at the most. Otherwise, you lose their attention and also stop them from focusing on where you want to be. Remember this is determining the narrative that you want them to remember you by. So you have to decide if you want to be known as a medical graduate with a strong research background or perhaps the medical graduate who used to be a management consultant. Try not to confuse them too much.

    Question. How long should a personal statement be?

    Answer. You should try to make it as brief as possible. Get someone else to read it for you. If you can use one word rather than three go for the one word. As a general rule for a medical graduate, I wouldn’t do more than a couple of paragraphs filling up the top 1/3 of your front page. But its all relative and as you go on further in your career you may want to devote more front-page real estate to your personal statement.

    Question. Is there anything I should not put in my personal statement?

    Answer. The main thing to avoid is statements or claims that you don’t back up in your resume. For example, if you say that you have excellent clinical skills then you should at least list the key ones you have developed under education. As I say statements such as “a strong focus on high-quality communication” or “strongly valuing teamwork” get quite cliched and grate on experienced employers. Don’t add something in like this unless you can really back up how you have demonstrated it in your career so far.

  • How Long and How Often Should You Prepare for a Doctor Job Interview?

    How Long and How Often Should You Prepare for a Doctor Job Interview?

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    Recently we ran a poll as part of some free training that we have been offering to doctors to help them better prepare for a doctor job interview. We ask the participants in this training what their approach to their last job interview was. So far over 100 doctors have registered for this training and the results are very interesting.

    Only 11% of participants indicated that they just winged the interview (i.e. did no preparation) which is a good result. But 53% of participants indicated that they had only done some preparation the night before, versus equal parts having done one practice session 18% or more than one practice 18%. We have added the same poll to the top of this post and would be interested to see what your approach was last time.

    prepare for a doctor job interview

    So How Long Should You Take to Prepare For a Doctor Job Interview?

    As someone who has coached hundreds of doctors through the interview process, I can definitely vouch for the fact that doing some amount of practice for the interview is much more likely to help you succeed. But the question is how long and how often should you prepare for your next doctor job interview? The answer to this question is a bit complicated but in general, the best advice would be to give yourself at least a few weeks and try to do a number of actual interview practice sessions in that space of time. At least some of these practice sessions should incorporate some form of feedback.

    But let’s unpack this a little bit more. Because there are definitely a few ways of practicing smarter so that if you have only a little bit of time then your practice can be more effective and if you have heaps of time you will get the maximum out of your endeavours.

    We will start by looking at why you should practice and then how you should practice.

    Why Should You Practice For Your Next Doctor Job Interview?

    I’m assuming that most of you are probably sold on the idea of some sort of practice for your next medical job interview and will skip over this section to the next heading.

    A question I would pose if you are not sold on interview preparation is why? Perhaps you have always been good at job interviews. There are some lucky ones who are. Or perhaps more likely you have been lucky up until this point.

    Did you study and prepare for examinations in medical school? For most, the answer to this question is yes.

    I’d like you to think about a job interview as similar to an important clinical exam. In many ways, its even more important than an exam as it will likely determine the speed and progression of your career. A job interview is a performance. And performances are skills. Skills need development to get to a high level but also top up to sustain them.

    The reason so many doctors struggle with doctor job interviews is not that they haven’t had the skills in the past to do well at an interview (for example a clinical examination). But we don’t sustain this skill over time. Because we don’t really need it all the time.

    So, unless you are regularly interviewing for jobs. Which thankfully is not the majority of us. You won’t be getting the type of skills practice you need. Unless of course, you do some practice of your own.

    Exactly How Much Practice Do You Need?

    The answer to this question is a bit complicated. Because it depends on what type of practice you are doing. You should obviously be practising answering questions. But there are many ways of doing this. Apart from establishing that some practice is better than no or little practice, there is no real empirical evidence out there to guide us as to what a good amount of practice is for job interviews.

    Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers explains that 10,000 hours is the key to mastery but this has been called into question.

    If you are looking for a good rule of thumb based on my personal observations about 6 practice sessions of an hour each spaced a few days apart is a good medium to head for. This is based on about 100 coaching engagements where I was providing about 3 of these 6 sessions. So if you are practising without a coach you may need a few more.

    Can You Practice Too Much for a Doctor Job Interview?

    Absolutely you can over practice for an interview. But in my experience few doctor job candidates get to this point. If you are practising regularly you will eventually get to the point where you feel a bit bored about the whole thing. This may be the point where you want to slow down your process a little. As regular practice will help you overcome the anxiety of performance but if you are too practised this will show across in the interview. And you won’t have that small amount of anticipation anxiety that most people use to get themselves alert and awake for a good performance.

    However, be wary that you are not just boring yourself because you are going over the same processes over and over again.

    Which leads me to.

    What Exactly Should You Practice for a Doctor Job Interview?

    Questions obviously. But consider what types of questions. And also consider practising components of these questions so that you get better at structuring your answers.

    You should be able to anticipate what types of questions you might get from a doctor job interview by reviewing the selection criteria.

    Be strategic about what bits of what questions you practice. Use deliberative practice and feedback methods to accelerate your performance. When you notice that you are only making fractional gains. That’s the time to move on to practising another bit of another question.

    What Forms of Feedback Should You Incorporate In Your Doctor Job Interview Preparation?

    You have to be careful about who you choose to help you with your coaching. For a real case study wake-up call see the video below I made about Kevin’s experience.

    There’s a lot of risk in asking friends, colleagues, and family to review your performance. They are cheering for you. So it will be hard for them to give you the critical feedback you need. Plus. They don’t really know what the panel is looking for.

    My advice is to choose either someone who has sat on many similar panels before or think about hiring an interview coach.

    Also, consider recording your sessions. So you can watch them back. Try to do one question or one part of a question and then force yourself to review the performance straight away. This is playing on the immediacy of feedback. It’s what high-performance athletes do. And it works.

    Related Questions.

    Question. What Is The Best Way To Record Your Interview Preparation?

    You can record yourself easily on an iPhone or similar mobile device. However, it’s best to not be holding these “selfie-style’. Try seeing if you can rest it somewhere so you can be sitting relaxed. Ideally, you want to frame your shot so you can see from the waist up. Just like a real interviewer would see you.

    If you want to step it up a bit. You can also get a free which allows you to record yourself in a meeting for up to 40 minutes. This is ideal for both live feedback sessions with say a coach or to review the recording later (and even send it to someone else for review). Zoom is the system we use for our coaching at AdvanceMed

    Question. What Should I Consider In Selecting An Interview Coach?

    There are a number of things to consider. Price is obviously one thing. But like in many endeavours you get what you pay for. So it shouldn’t be the only consideration. Actual knowledge of the doctor job interview process is quite desirable. Look for a strong track record and also consider that there are quite a few advantages of video coaching over face-to-face coaching. For more, we have written a blog post on this topic for you.

    Question. How Can I Best Get Feedback On My Actual Interview Performance?

    The best time to ask for feedback is at the end of the actual interview if you are brave enough. Check out this video we made about this topic.

  • 5 Key Take Aways From the New National Medical Training Survey

    5 Key Take Aways From the New National Medical Training Survey

    This week the Medical Board of Australia released the findings of the first-ever national medical training survey (MTS). As someone who has previously championed and developed these types of reports on the New South Wales level, it is truly pleasing to see this report launched. And boy did they release some findings!

    With the results of 59 headline questions reported across several different segments, including interns, prevocational and unaccredited trainees, IMGs and specialty trainees. With the main report running 249 pages, several other reports drilling down to College level, State and Territory level and even an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander report.  As well as an online interactive dashboard and a page where you can customize your own reports. There’s truly something for everyone in it. 

    So, what are some of the key findings from this report? Key points from this survey are that greater than 75% of doctors in training are happy with their training and workplace, however, 22% had experienced some form of bullying, harassment or discrimination. Most doctors in training are working safe hours but a concerning amount are still working in excess of 60 hours and even 90 hours per week, with surgery being one particularly bad specialty for this. Contrastingly far too many doctors in training aspire to enter a specialty like surgery than there is the actual capacity or need for. The survey shows that individual doctor career plans are out of alignment with medical workforce planning. Finally, even though we do have information about how medical schools are now performing as part of the medical training pipeline this information is surprisingly absent from the survey.

    Let’s drill a bit further into some of the key initial findings from the survey.

    Table Of Contents

    Overall Impressions Of the Medical Training Survey.

    The Medical Training Survey will be run each year to get feedback from doctors in training in Australia (and in time their supervisors) to (according to the Medical Board of Australia):

    • better understand the quality of medical training in Australia
    • identify how best to improve medical training in Australia, and
    • recognize and deal with potential issues in medical training that could impact on patient safety, including environment and culture, unacceptable behaviours and poor supervision.

    It will take a while to assess the impact of this report. What we will need to see over time is the collection of data and the monitoring of trends to see whether the presence of the survey itself can spur on positive change.

    There is some hope that it might do that.  As similar surveys which have been running in the United Kingdom for some time now have shown improvements on parameters such as the extent to which Foundation doctors felt adequately prepared for their posts by their medical school has improved over time.

    GMC Foundation Results

    Image from the UK medical training survey depicting a sharp rise in “preparedness” from 2012 to 2013 (previous surveys would show this trend as going upwards from a lower level, but the 70% appears to be a natural barrier to further improvement). Source gmc-uk.org

    Overall Most Trainee Doctors Are Happy.

    With all the negative stories associated with the lot of trainee doctors in Australia over the past few years.  It may be tempting to conclude that trainee doctors in Australia are a deeply unhappy lot.  However, that’s simply not the case.

    And whilst, those stories should not be ignored and whilst there is empirical evidence of trainee doctors in Australia being exposed to adverse experiences in the workplace at unacceptable rates.  This experience is thankfully not the experience of the majority.

    In fact, 78% of the survey respondents indicated that they would recommend their current training position to other doctors (agreed or strongly agreed), followed closely by 76% of respondents being comfortable recommending their workplace as a place to train (again agreed or strongly agreed).

    Medical Training Survey snapshot

    International Doctors Are Even Happier According to the Medical Training Survey.

    I get asked a lot by international doctors if hospitals in Australia are good environments for IMGs.

    Here’s a table that shows you that overall IMGs are actually even happier than interns about their training post and workplace.

    82% IMGs would recommend their training post to another doctor, compared to 75% of interns. And 80% of IMGs would recommend their workplace to another doctor, compared to 75% of interns.

    Doctors In Training Are Still Working Too Much.

    The survey shows that the majority of doctors in training are now working under 49 hours per week.  However, 17% are in a risky area of working up to 59 hours a week and there are concerning outliers with 13% reporting working greater than 60 hours per week, including up to 90 hours or beyond.

    What is also interesting is that whilst one might expect that excessive work hours are more of a problem for specialty trainees when one compares the figures between, say interns and specialty trainees the difference is the other way with 16% of interns working over 60 hours a week and only 12% of specialty trainees working over 60 hours per week.

    But if we go a bit more granular and check out a specialty like surgery, we see more of what we expect to see.

    52% of RACS trainees report working greater than 60 hours a week. If you spot a worse group than this on the survey, I’d love to know about it.

    Where Did That Unrostered Overtime Go?

    Also, only 47% of doctors in training report being paid for unrostered over time, which is a deep concern.

    There Are Still Too Many Doctors In Training Being Exposed to Bad Behaviour.

    22% of doctors in training report personal experience of bullying, harassment or discrimination and 27% report witnessing this.  This is on part with other reports conducted around this issue, including one I helped write a few years back.

    Similar to our report findings only 35% of the recipients and 29% of the witnesses reported reporting this behaviour.  Which again is consistent with other studies.  What is most worrying is the level of non-witness report as this is probably the key statistic to be focussing in on here.

    If there is a silver lining to all of this it is that 52% of recipients who reported bullying, harassment or discrimination received a follow up to their report.  Now 52% may not seem all that great.  But this is actually a pretty good baseline result given what we know so far about the skills and capabilities of senior colleagues in handling the difficult issue of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

    Career Aspirations Greatly MisMatch the Reality.

    The MTS also included questions about career planning and intentions. Apparently 16% of Interns were unsure whether they did or did not have a training plan.  In my book that means you don’t have a plan.

    But check out the next table for an example of poor expectations management! 

    According to another medical workforce data set, the Health Workforce Australia, Medical Education and Training Dataset there were 1051 accredited surgical training positions in Australia. Now bear in mind that these 1051 positions aren’t just occupied by an individual doctor for one year but several years in order to complete a training program.

    Contrast this with the fact that 26% of the interns, resident medical officers, senior residents and unaccredited trainees indicated they were most interested in pursuing surgery as a career.  That’s a raw number of 351 of survey respondents alone. If we scaled it up to include those in these cohorts who did not complete the survey then we are probably talking 1500 to 2000, when the true capacity is around 200 to 300 per annum.

    If we look at the other end of the spectrum we then see a specialty such as psychiatry which traditionally struggles to attract trainee doctors sitting at only 4% when in fact it has capacity for and needs more trainees than surgery.  By the way, psychiatry also ranks in the top 5 professions for salary in Australia, along with Surgery.  Just saying.

    I was disappointed to see that this particular question was not asked of international medical graduates.  This would be important information to have.

    We Are Not Connecting the Dots (Yet) Between Medical School and Doctors In Training.

    So the last key finding is really a non-finding. I was surprised to see with all the effort that went into making this survey right a failure to ask a really obvious question about the transition from medical school to being a doctor-in-training. 

    As we have alluded to in the United Kingdom survey this has been a key and consistent question in their national report.  And it is an important one as we need to ensure that various parts of the medical training continuum are connecting with each other.

    What is even more surprising is that this question does get asked in Australia. It is asked as part of a survey led by the Australian Medical Council but with the participation of the Medical Board of Australia in a separate survey called the Preparedness for Internship Survey. This survey showed that 74% of respondents (interns) felt their medical school training had been sufficient.

    I believe it’s a mistake not to include this question in the national training survey as it helps us to connect some important dots with other questions.  Hopefully, over time, the Medical Board will find a way of combining the results of both surveys.

    I would encourage you to go and have a look at the survey yourself. Play around with it and see what you find.

    In this post, I haven’t even touched on things like the differences between various States and Territories or touched on very much issues around specialty training or other specific groups.

    I would love to get your feedback on the type of follow up post you would like to see to this one.

    Question. What is the Medical Training Survey (MTS)?

    Answer. The Medical Training Survey is a national, profession-wide survey of all doctors in training in Australia. It is conducted in a confidential way to get national, comparative, profession-wide data. With the aim of strengthening medical training in Australia.

    The survey is designed to be quick to complete and done on all manner of online devices and has the support of key stakeholders, such as doctors in training groups, employers, educators, the AMA and regulatory bodies.

    Question. How does The Medical Training Survey happen?

    Answer. The Medical Training Survey is open during August and September of each year, which coincides with the medical registration renewal period for most doctors in Australia.

    The survey is run independently by research agency EY Sweeney.  The survey is confidential, and data is gathered from online entry. Only aggregated data is ever reported, with the minimum threshold being ten (10) data points on any item and group to report back.

    Question. Who can do the survey?

    Answer. All doctors in training in Australia can do the survey. This includes interns, hospital medical officers, resident medical officers, non-accredited trainees, postgraduate trainees, principal house officers, registrars, specialist trainees and international medical graduates. Career medical officers who intend to undertake further postgraduate training in medicine can also participate.

  • Do International Doctors Have to Work as A Rural Doctor in Australia?

    Do International Doctors Have to Work as A Rural Doctor in Australia?

    In terms of land area, Australia is a large country, the 6th largest in the world. About 7,700,000 square kilometres. It’s a big country and as such has a lot of “country” or rural areas. Australia is also one of the most urban countries in the world, with about 85% of the population living within 50km of the coast. Just like other big countries. When doctors attempt to migrate to Australia from overseas some of the first questions they often will have are: “Whereabouts will I be able to work?” And “will I have to work as a rural doctor?” They will have normally already heard how big Australia is as a country and often heard rumours that international doctors can only work in rural parts of Australia.

    If you are reading this blog as a doctor from another country, I think it’s important to understand the facts and I’d like you to not feel too put off by the thought of potentially working in a rural part of Australia. There are far more important and difficult parts of the process of coming to work here. Don’t be put off by potential work locations.

    The quick facts about whether an international doctor has to work as a rural doctor in Australia are as follows:

    • Both international medical graduates, as well as medical students studying in Australia from other countries, are both subject to a ten-year restriction on being able to access Medicare billings as a service provider which can prevent you from being able to work in certain locations. This is commonly referred to as a 19AB restriction or the 10-year-moratorium.
    • There are many urban, regional and semi-rural areas (as well as more rural and remote areas) where you can still work in under Medicare.
    • But you generally won’t need to access Medicare for all of this ten year period. And if you are working as a trainee doctor or consultant in a public hospital you can potentially work in any part of Australia without having to worry about this restriction.

    The 19AB Medicare restrictions are the most significant policy that impacts international doctors working in Australia. But there is a range of other rules, restrictions as well as incentives that might affect you, including visa restrictions. So let’s look at these a bit more. As well as taking a deeper dive looking at the 19AB 10-year-moratorium.

    Government rules generally require IMG doctors to spend a period of time as a rural doctor. But not always.

    Australia is a vast country with large population centres concentrated in cities on the coastal fringes and much smaller populations throughout its landmass. This creates a problem whereby people who live in smaller population areas tend to miss out on access to a range of services in comparison to those based in the cities. This includes access to health care.

    Doctors themselves as an overall group tend to want to live and work in larger centres. The Federal Government, therefore, provides a range of incentives to entice doctors to work as rural doctors. As well as creating a number of restrictions for IMGs to make working in rural areas the only viable option.

    There are a couple of ways in which the Federal Government attempts to control the distribution of IMG doctors in Australia. The first is through Medicare billings. The second is through visa restrictions.

    Medicare and the 19AB Restriction Explained In More Detail.

    What is 19AB?

    International medical graduates are restricted in where they can work in Australia and access Medicare benefits as health care providers.

    What is Medicare?

    Medicare is Australia’s universal health insurance scheme. It guarantees all Australians (and some overseas visitors) access to a wide range of health and hospital services at low or no cost.

    Australians make more than 150 million visits to a GP every year. Medicare helps pay for the majority of the cost of these visits.

    Patients who have a Medicare card can access a range of health care services for free or at a lower cost, including:

    • medical services by doctors, specialists and other health professionals
    • hospital treatment
    • prescription medicines
    • diagnostic and imaging services
    • psychological services

    The Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) lists the medical services covered by Medicare.

    The schedule includes an MBS fee for each service. This is the amount (or benefit) the Australian Government believes that the service should cost.

    Whilst it is possible to work as a doctor outside of the Medicare system. On a practical level, without access to the Medicare Benefits Schedule, it is pretty tough for a doctor to make a living. Doctors would have to either significantly reduce their fees to a level which matches the out of pocket costs that other doctors charge on top of Medicare or set up in an area where there was very little competition. Even then it is likely that patients would not be happy as the Australian population is used to being able to access Medicare for their health care.

    Section 19AB of Australia’s Health Insurance Act 1973 sets out the rules for international medical graduates and these restrictions.

    Medicare Provider Numbers.

    In order to bill Medicare for services, a doctor needs to have a Medicare provider number. Most doctors have more than one Medicare provider number. The reason being that you are required to have a provider number for each unique location where you might work.

    By tieing provider numbers to geographical locations, the Federal Government is able to restrict where doctors are able to practice.

    Who does 19AB apply to?

    Restrictions under 19AB apply to two groups of doctors. The federal government calls both of these groups of doctors international medical graduates. This is a bit confusing as really only one of these categories of doctors is really an international medical graduate as most people understand this term to mean. You are deemed to be an international medical graduate if you:

    • got your degree outside of Australia or New Zealand
    • enrolled in a degree in Australia or New Zealand as a temporary resident

    So the second group is basically doctors who graduated from an Australian or New Zealand medical school but did so as a student paying fees from overseas.

    So Australian Doctors Can Just Work Anywhere Then?

    Yes and No.

    In order to charge for Medicare services all doctors, including Australian graduates and those under 19AB restrictions, have to meet certain other qualifications.

    For most doctors, this means being what is called “vocationally-registered” or what many might call recognised as a specialist. General Practice is recognised as a specialty in Australia.

    There are also some restrictions for what is called Bonded Medical Place Scheme.

    Doctors who are Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents are subject to another section of the same legislation Section 19AA.

    What is 19AA?

    Doctors who are permanent residents or citizens of Australia must become vocationally recognised. Doctors become vocationally recognised by getting a Fellowship qualification in a specialty that is recognised in Australia.

    Under 19AA, you can’t get a Medicare provider number if you are a permanent resident or citizen of Australia, and you are not:

    • recognised as a Fellow by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
    • recognised as a Fellow by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
    • recognised as a Fellow by another Australian specialist college
    • on an approved 3GA program

    3GA Explained. Sorry I Promise I Am Going to Finish With the Meaningless Letters and Numbers Soon.

    If you do not hold Fellowship, you can provide services covered by Medicare if you are on a section 3GA approved training or workforce program. As of the time of writing this post, there were a number of open 3GA programs:

    As well as some programs which are closed to new applicants.

    Most of these programs relate to supporting doctors on a training pathway to general practice, e.g. the Australian General Practice Training Program.

    DPA and DWS (Sorry 🙂 )

    Under 19AB, you must work in a Distribution Priority Area (DPA) if you’re a GP, or a District of Workforce Shortage (DWS) if you’re a non-GP specialist, for at least 10 years.

    Distribution Priority Areas are a new concept. They have been developed because the previous concept, which is and was District of Workforce Shortage wasn’t making a whole lot of sense.

    To explain this I am going to use a few images from the Health Workforce Locator tool, which is a very handy and useful tool that you yourself can use to find out more about where doctors in Australia are needed and can work if they are under restrictions.

    Let’s take Melbourne, Victoria as our example. Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city by population.

    The first image depicts the most current classification scheme for locations in Australia, the Modified Monash Model. It is named the Monash Model as it is based on some work done by researchers at Monash University.

    The Modified Monash Model (MMM) is used to define whether a location is a city, rural, remote or very remote.

    The model measures remoteness and population size on a scale of Modified Monash (MM) category MM 1 to MM 7. MM 1 is a major city and MM 7 is very remote.

    Using the MMM classification system can in theory help distribute the health workforce better in rural and remote areas.

    MMM classifications are based on the previous Australian Statistical Geography Standard – Remoteness Areas (ASGS-RA) framework.

    The Distribution Priority Area classification uses MMM boundaries.

    Some government programs use the MMM to define their eligibility requirements.

    From January 2020, Department of Health programs are transitioning to use the MMM classification.

    Areas of classification from urban to remote around Melbourne, depicting the Modified-Monash Classification
    Areas of classification from urban to remote around Melbourne, depicting the Modified-Monash Classification

    The next image again centred around Melbourne depicts the current status of General Practice using the DPA system.

    The DPA system takes into account gender and age demographics, and the socio-economic status of patients living in an area.

    An area is automatically classified as DPA when it is: 

    • classified under the Modified Monash Model as MM 5 to 7 
    • in the Northern Territory

    Other areas can be classified as DPA when the level of health services for the population does not meet a service benchmark.

    The average level of health services under MM 2 is the benchmark for international medical graduates to work in DPA areas.

    This benchmark is compared to the needs of an area, taking into account gender and age demographics, and the socio-economic status of patients living in an area.

    Areas around Melbourne where IMGs can work as General Practitioners (Yellow is good).

    The next image, again around Melbourne, depicts the previous ASGS Remoteness Area classification system. It is still used to determine a range of programs including District Workforce Shortage. As well as determine how doctors can speed up their 10-year moratorium.

    The previous ASGS Remoteness Area Classification Scheme

    The final image around Melbourne using the same tool shows you the state of general surgery around Melbourne. Notice a difference between this image and the one for General Practice? There are large areas of Melbourne available to work in for an IMG general surgeon. Yet big parts of rural Victoria are seemingly off-limits.


    Areas around Melbourne depicting where IMG General Surgeons could potentially work

    Under the DWS system, you would also see quite bizarre patterns for general practice. This is why there has been a switch to DPA.

    The problem is that the DWS system is a cruder system. It basically looks at Medicare billings for a particular specialty in a certain location and determines if that area is above or below the average of billings.

    For this reason, one would and should expect that all specialties will eventually be switched over to DPA over time.

    Bonded Medical Place Scheme

    Under the BMP Scheme, the Government provides a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) at a medical school at an Australian university.

    In exchange for a medical place, once they have graduated, bonded participants agree to work in an area of workforce shortage for one to six years. The length of time depends on your agreement and is called the return of service period.

    The 10-Year Moratorium

    The 10 year moratorium period starts from the first day of medical registration. This is called the 10 Year Moratorium. 

    All international medical graduates are subject to the moratorium. There are no exceptions.

    The moratorium and 19AB restrictions will end for you after 10 years if you are a permanent resident or citizen by this time. Most IMGs, if they have gotten this far, will be eligible for permanent residency.

    If however, a doctor does remain a temporary resident, their moratorium continues until the time they become a permanent resident or citizen.

    But if you do not have a Fellowship qualification when you become a permanent resident, you will subject to the other rules under 19AA.

    Speeding Up Your Ten Year Wait.

    So are there any options for reducing the amount of time under which you are restricted in your Medicare Provider Number?

    Yes, there are some options. But as we have highlighted above you may not necessarily wish to consider these options if you do not have a clear path to permanent residency or citizenship.

    Moratorium Scaling

    Moratorium scaling allows you to reduce the amount of time you must work in an area classified as DPA or DWS.

    Working in eligible locations lets you collect ‘scaling credits’. The more credits you have, the sooner you can work in any location across Australia you want. That is provided you satisfy all the other requirements.

    The more remote a location is, the more scaling credits you will get for working there. In theory, this directs the workforce to the areas that need it the most.

    The moratorium is always 10 years, minimum. However, once you have enough scaling credits, you will have a class exemption for the remainder of your moratorium.

    You can then apply to practise in an area that is not classified as DPA or DWS.

    How Moratorium Scaling Works

    You can scale the moratorium if all of the following apply:

    • you are an international medical graduate working in an eligible regional or remote area under 19AB
    • you are claiming Medicare Benefits Schedule items for services as part of your employment
    • your monthly billing threshold is $5,000

    So for example, you can’t just fly out to Bourke once a month for a day and run a clinic and count this for scaling. Unless you are good enough to collect $5,000 on that particular day.

    Also, if you have worked in multiple areas in a month, Medicare will be able to work this out and your credit will be based on the area where you billed the most, as long as you reached the $5,000 threshold.

    Scaling locations are based on the Australian Standard Geographic Classification – Remoteness Area system.

    ClassificationRA CategoryMonthly scaling benefit (where billing threshold is met)Potential reduction of DPA period under the moratorium
    RA 1Major citiesNilNot reduced
    RA 2Inner regional3.37 days9 years
    RA 3Outer regional13 days7 years
    RA 4Remote20.3 days6 years
    RA 5Very remote30.4 days5 years

    Is Sitting It Out An Option?

    I hesitate to write an answer to this question because I truly do believe that working in regional and rural Australia offers significant benefits to doctors. But if you are truly not inclined to work in one of the more rural regions of Australia then sitting it out may be an option for you.

    Let’s take the situation of an IMG who comes to Australia and works their way into a Resident Medical Officer role in a city hospital as part of the Standard Pathway. So this doctor will work off one of their ten years just doing their provisional registration year to gain general registration.

    Lets then say that they take a further couple of years of Senior Resident roles whilst working themselves towards a specialty training program. So we now have 3 of the ten years done.

    And then let’s say they enrol in Adult Physician training take 3 years to complete Basic training. Take a further 3 years to complete an Advanced Training program and a year off to complete a PhD.

    That’s a fairly common path even for an Australian trainee. And its ten years in total.

    Sitting It Out Is Not An Option For General Practice Training Or Specialist IMGs.

    The situation would be much more different obviously for a trained specialist IMG who comes to Australia. If you are lucky enough to be assessed as either partially or substantially comparable then you will need to find a position where you can work supervised to complete the rest of your assessment. Whilst this post could be potentially anywhere in Australia, we will see below how its likely not to be in a major metropolitan centre.

    You won’t necessarily need to worry about Medicare initially as its most likely you will be working in the public hospital system. But after a while, if you wish to work privately you are definitely going to be subject to 19AB restrictions.

    Similarly, for any international medical graduate who comes to Australia via the Standard Pathway and wishes to enter general practice training. In order to enter the largest General Practice training program, the AGPT program you will be required to training under the rural pathway and not be able to train under the general pathway.

    Once you finish GP training there are very few options for GPs to work salaried in a hospital or medical centre and urban GP practices will be unlikely to offer you a post if you cannot bill Medicare, so you will definitely need to work in a DPA area.

    Visa Restrictions.

    Up until this point we have pretty much solely focused on Medicare Provider number restrictions. But it is also important to point out that the Federal Government is able to and does attempt to control the supply of various professionals working in Australia through visa restrictions.

    Firstly, in order to be able to gain a work visa there needs to be a recognition that there is an undersupply of the work category that you are in. Luckily for doctors, most medical categories are seen as being in undersupply in most parts of Australia.

    If you are lucky enough to gain a post in Australia and are not already a permanent resident or citizen then the most likely visa that you will be able to gain is a Subclass 482 or Temporary Skill Shortage visa.

    482 Temporary Skills Visas

    These visas let an employer sponsor a suitably skilled worker to fill a position they can’t find a suitably skilled Australian to fill.

    They run from about 2 to 4 years depending on whether you are on the short-term or medium-term or labour agreement stream. Your medical area will need to be on one of several lists that the federal government keeps to identify strategic workforce needs.

    In most cases, you are not necessarily restricted to working in a certain location on a 482 Visa. But some may have restrictions (for example Anaesthetics is currently listed as needing to be in a regional area).

    However, you are generally tied to your employer on a 482 Visa and its not very easy to transfer between one employer and another without gaining another visa.

    If you are interested in more information about visa options you should definitely discuss with a qualified migration agent. I am only providing the above information as general information and not specific advice.

    The Labour Market Also Dictates That IMGs Are More Likely To Find Work in Regional and Rural Areas.

    Up until now we really haven’t discussed much about the role of the State and Territory governments or the employers in the whole process.

    Public hospitals in Australia are run by the State and Territory governments and these governments also often pick up a lot of the slack around primary care in the rural regions.

    So unsurprisingly, these governments also attempt to exert some control over where international medical graduates work. Mostly they do this through marketing and the use of incentives. But they can also restrict whether a hospital can advertise a certain position to an international medical graduate and set rules around these circumstances.

    But there’s another big factor that weighs upon where IMG doctors do end up working and that is the labour market itself. Generally speaking, medical positions fill up towards the major capital centres and vacancies will draw doctors in from regional and rural areas.

    So its therefore not surprising that there are simply more opportunities for IMG doctors in regional, rural and remote areas as there are must more vacancies to fill in these places.

    On the flip side, a number of these locations have focussed on the IMG market as a workforce solution and become really good at supporting IMGs to get their headstart in Australia.

    I often hear comments about how IMGs are not wanted by Australian employers. There are always good and bad employers around. If you are applying for jobs as an IMG in Australia you are probably going to find that the big city hospitals are the more inhospitable and that the regional and rural hospitals much more receptive.

    Summary.

    So to summarise. There are many reasons why as an international doctor you may find yourself working in rural Australia. At least for a period of time. But this does not necessarily mean working a long distance from an urban centre. And the experiences of many international doctors who have trod this path before you have often been positive. Compared to things like actually finding a job or putting yourself through the AMC or college assessment process. I frankly think that there are more important matters to be worried about if Australia is your destination.

    Question. How Do I Get Registered To Work In Australia?

    Answer. As an International Doctor, you first need an employment offer to gain registration. After that, there are two main pathways to registration: the standard pathway (if you are not a specialist) and the specialist pathway.

    Question. Where Can I Get Further Information About the Specialty Colleges?

    Answer. We have a post written about that very topic.

    Question. Where Can I Find Information About Jobs?

    Answer. Head over to our IMG resources page.

  • Intern, Resident and Registrar Salary Australia. 2020 Guide.

    Intern, Resident and Registrar Salary Australia. 2020 Guide.

    We have an updated salary guide at this post.

    What Every Australian Trainee Doctor Earns. Junior Doctor Salary Guide

    On this blog we want to give you the best information possible about Medical Careers. That obviously includes information about pay rates and related conditions. We have already given you the low down on Interns and Residents, as well as Specialists. So its high time we discussed Specialty Trainees. Right?

    In this post we are going to talk about Specialty Trainees, also referred to as Registrars and how much they earn. Specialty Trainee Registrars working full-time in the hospital system will earn between $89,649 as a first-year Registrar in Tasmania up to $161,766 per annum working at the most senior Registrar level in Western Australia. General Practice Trainee Registrars working full-time are guaranteed $75,328 per annum in their first year of training. Going up to a guaranteed $96,724 per annum in their 3rd and final year of training.

    Once again it’s important to emphasize that these salaries are base salaries for full-time employees. Specialty Registrars are often required to work considerable amounts of overtime and on-call which will increase their pay rate significantly. And General Practice Registrars are able to negotiate with their employers above the guaranteed rate of pay. Often this will be on the basis of a proportion of the Medicare revenue that they generate for the practice. So, again they can possibly earn significantly more.

    Specialty Trainees Can and Often Do Earn Much, Much More.

    We can see evidence of the fact that Registrars do earn much more than their base rate of pay. “Other Medical Practitioners”, which is where most Registrars classify themselves for tax purposes with the Australian Tax Office earned on average $204,387 of taxable income in 2016/17 according to the ATO.

    Whilst these figures are likely to be conflated by General Practitioners and other Specialists indicating this category as their profession as well they do back up the contention that most trainee doctors earn significantly more than their base salary due to working excessive hours with specialty trainees at most risk of working excessive hours and amongst these Intensive Care and Surgical trainees being at the highest risk of fatigue.

    Its certainly been my observation over the years that surgical trainees in particular work long hours. This is generally a combination of rostered and unrostered overtime as well as being “on-call”. I was literally at a meeting last week where an administrator reported that the surgical trainees at her hospital were the best paid doctors last year due to their workload. Meaning that they were paid even more than the specialists.

    Its easy to see why and how this would be the case. Lets take a typical situation of a medium hospital which employs 3 General Surgical trainees. Each is on the roster approximately 1 in 3 on top of their normal 40 hours per week. This means being on call around 2 weeknights per week and 1 weekend in 3.

    Let’s assume one of these surgical trainees does slightly more than their share of weeknights in a month (4 weeks). 8 in total. But only one weekend. Let’s say that they get called on average 2 times per weeknight and 15 times over the course of that weekend.

    In New South Wales each of these call-backs would amount to a period of 4 hours of overtime. This is initially paid at time and a half for the first two hours and thereafter double time.

    So we have:

    • 160 hours of normal time
    • 2 callbacks X 8 = 64 hours of overtime for the weeknights
    • 15 callbacks for the weekend = 60 hours

    This gives us a total of 284 hours for that 4 week period. Which is close to double the base hours! But wait. Because those overtime hours get paid initially as time and a half and then very quickly as double time. The total amount of hours paid becomes about 400 hours!

    Now this example is obviously not typical for every specialty and there are some specialties which may not have to do as much overtime and not get called in as much. But it is also not the most extreme example either as the case of Dr. Yumiko Kadota has demonstrated to us.

    Breakdown By State and Territory.

    We have compiled below a table that demonstrates the current base rates of pay for Intern, Resident, Senior Resident, Registrar and Senior Registrar for each State and Territory in Australia.

    Please bear in mind a number of things. Once again we are talking Full-Time Annual Salary. Also, as I have pointed out above the actual take-home pay can vary considerably. Also, the Awards and agreements for each State and Territory are set independently and at different times from each other. So over time, the tendency is for there to be movement both up and down through the table.

    What is apparent, however, as we have pointed out on our other blog posts about Interns and Residents is that Western Australia is clearly the best place to work if your sole interest is finances. Victoria is next best and rates a special mention as its Enterprise Agreement contains a lot of additional friendly provisions that others do not.

    $31,000 in difference between the highest rate of pay between Western Australia and Tasmania is a bit hard to fathom and justify. It’s almost a 20% difference.

    State / TerritoryInternResidentSenior Resident*RegistrarSenior Registrar**
    Western Australia***[]$78,479$86,328$94,960$109,678$161,766
    Victoria$74,563$79,391$86,060$116,460$155,477
    New South Wales[]$69,649$81,639$89,793$101,698$143,398
    Australian Capital Territory***[]$68,094$79,682$87,410$98,704$138,667
    Queensland$73,306$79,413$85,521$105,377$134,389
    Northern Territory$71,350$82,731$88,629$98,413$134,113
    South Australia$73,370$80,041$86,710$100,717$133,400
    Tasmania$68,936$72,837$89,649$89,649$126,854

    *Being appointed to a specialty trainee position does not automatically mean appointment to a Registrar role in all States and Territories. For some, for example NSW, the entry point is the Senior Resident Medical Officer position.

    **Not all States and Territories have a Senior Registrar role. We have used the maximum Registrar pay grade where there is no Senior Registrar role.

    ***The Australian Capital Territory Enterprise Agreement expired in July 2017. Therefore we expect that the salaries quoted here will increase significantly when there is a finalization of the new agreement. Similarly, the WA Agreement experied in 2018.

    What About General Practice?

    Ok. So far I have ignored General Practice. But this has not been deliberate. It’s because General Practice is a different set of circumstances to the other specialty training cases. This is because General Practice works more on a national basis. Because there is an Australia-wide minimum set of pay standards.

    So, according to the General Practice Registrar Association website the current base rate of pay for a first-year General Practice Registrar is $75,328.23 per year and for a Registrar in their final year (which is either 3rd or 4th year) $96,724.43 per year. Again, this is for full-time work.

    Now, whilst these rates appear to be somewhat lower than for Specialty Trainees paid as Registrars you should bear in mind four things about General Practice training.

    The first is that General Practice training is a minimum of 4 years, whereas most other specialties are 5 years and possibly longer. So there is no need for higher Registrar levels in general practice.

    The second is that is actually possible to enter General Practice training in your PGY2 hospital year. So when you enter your first actual GP training post you are actually in your second year of training.

    The third is that the pay agreements are a minimum standard as part of an employment contract below which your employer may not go. But it is quite common for GP trainees to negotiate a better agreement with their employer, by agreeing to collect a share of their Medicare billings. So it is possible to do far better than these minimum amounts. Although, clearly this partly has to do with your own productivity as a GP trainee. And I don’t have any meaningful information to tell you how much this can increase salaries.

    The fourth and final thing is that clearly, GP trainees become specialists earlier. So whilst other specialists can and do eventually earn more than GPs. You get there first as a GP and so you get a head start on the rest of the field. Also, GPs are generally working less time than other specialists. So in theory more able to enjoy their very reasonable salary.

    Time To Complete Training and Other Costs.

    It has been suggested to me by my readers and viewers that in order to tell the complete picture I should talk about the time it takes one to complete training as well as some of the other costs involved in getting there.

    Whilst I agree that this probably does make the picture a little bit more complex for Specialty groups such as Surgeons. As I have also pointed out. Whilst one is working as a Surgical Trainee, either accredited or unaccredited you are in a group of doctors who are going to be earning quite a bit due to the amount of time worked. Now. This observation in itself is not really an attractive reason to enter Surgical training in my opinion.

    But it does mean that if you are successful in getting your way through Surgical training to your FRACS you are probably going to end up earning one of the highest incomes of doctors across your medical career.

    This is all pretty relative when we consider that most medical professions are in or close to the top ten occupations in terms of average income in Australia.

    Some key things to observe here are:

    • Some specialties are somewhat easier to get into at an earlier stage of training, examples being Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, Physician Training and Emergency Medicine.
    • Other specialties have long waiting lists where you might end up becoming a very, very senior Resident before you get onto the program. Examples here are Surgery, Ophthalmology and Dermatology
    • Costs of training fees and exam fees can also vary significantly. Annual College fees usually start at over a thousand dollars for most Colleges. Examination fees can be a few thousand dollars to over ten thousand dollars. These costs are all tax deductible.
    • You may also need to or find it desirable to enter a formal training course. Some Colleges make this mandatory. This will also cost you a few thousand dollars. Again. This is also tax deductible.
    • Depending on your specialty there may be some equipment that you need to buy. For example, some of the surgical specialties utilise special equipment (think Ear, Nose and Throat).

    Other Related Questions.

    Question: What Other Benefits Do You Get As a Specialty Trainee?

    Answer.

    There are a range of other benefits that you get when working as an employed doctor in Australia.

    • On top of your salary, your employer is required to pay an additional 9.5% into a superannuation fund to assist with your retirement.
    • As an employee, you are covered by workers compensation for any injury or accident that might occur at work. Although payouts are often fairly poor and below what most professionals earn. So you may wish to consider taking out additional income protection insurance.
    • If you are asked to be on-call you will get a small allowance for this and be paid if you are called back into work.
    • You may get an allowance or even a mobile phone provided to you if you are required to be on call.
    • You might get some meal allowances for shifts.
    • If you have been seconded a reasonable distance from your normal place of appointment you will generally be provided with free temporary accommodation (you may need to pay a bond) and a travel allowance, for example, a free air ticket back home every 13 weeks or so.
    • You will get at least 4 weeks of annual leave per year.
    • Most doctors will also get one extra day off per month. Called a Rostered Day Off or RDO.
    • You will get a certain amount of sick leave every year which you can accumulate if you don’t use.
    • You also get access to other types of leave, such as leave to take your child to the doctor.

    Question: If I Am a Specialty Trainee From Overseas. How Much Will I Get Paid?

    Answer.

    You should be paid the same as the equivalent doctor in Australia. But this is a case where it’s always best to check. Once you are offered a position you should make sure that the employer is taking into account your current status as a trainee doctor overseas and in particular the amount of years of experience you have had. Some employers may indicate that they only take into account years of clinical experience worked in Australia. This can be a grey point. When pushed they will generally recognise your overseas experience as well.

    Special thanks to Dr Rachel Seaniger for the research conducted on this post

  • How to Use novoresume to Make a Winning Resume In 2020

    How to Use novoresume to Make a Winning Resume In 2020

  • How to Deal With Bullies In Medicine. 8 Tips For Surviving.

    How to Deal With Bullies In Medicine. 8 Tips For Surviving.

    Recently a trainee doctor left me a message on the website asking for some help with dealing with a number of senior colleagues who were bullying them in the workplace. Unfortunately, he or she did not leave any contact details. But given that this is certainly not the first time I have been asked for help in this manner I thought it would be a good idea for me to share some thoughts on the subject of how to deal with bullies in medicine.

    I want to make this a practical post for any of your struggling with dealing with difficult behaviour in the hospital or community medicine. I’m more than happy to write an article on the causes or potential solutions to bullying and in fact, have done so in the past. But this post is for those of you already immersed in the problem with no hope of a rapid culture change program to bail you out right now.

    So here are a few practical tips for things you can do or try if you are encountering a bully in medicine. You can:

    • use distance to avoid the doctor bully
    • dodge and avoid encounters with the doctor bully
    • slow down the rhythm of encounters with the doctor bully
    • become invisible to the doctor bully
    • find someone who can act as a “bully blocker” to the doctor bully
    • tag-team with partners to deal with the doctor bully
    • find or establish safety zones for recovery from the doctor bully
    • establish an early warning system to avoid doctor bullies

    I do however emphasise that this is a list of tactics for dealing with the acute issue of a bully in the workplace. For long term problems, there is a need for a more systemic approach. But given that hospital cultures often take years and many trainee doctors rotate every 10 to 26 weeks or so, some practical tips are justifiable.

    So let’s explore these tips one by one in more detail below.But first, let’s credit the source of inspiration which is Professor Robert Sutton who is, in my opinion, the world’s leading authority on workplace bullies or what he terms “assholes”. He has written a number of books on the topic all of which I would highly recommend. But the inspiration for this particular article comes from one of his later books. The Asshole Survival Guide.

    Tip 1 Keeping Your Distance From Bullies in Medicine

    This may seem obvious but most places where we work in Medicine afford us a fair deal of space. As Sutton points out in his book generally the closer you are to someone in the workplace the more often you communicate. Which is great if you get on with that person, but if that person is a bully then closeness is a bit of a problem. You may not be able to get the bully to move away from you but perhaps there are opportunities for you to move a bit further away to avoid being in the line of fire?

    For example, can you move desks or change your presence in the ward round line? Maybe rather than accompanying them in the lift, suggest you are happy to wait for the next one or take the stairs instead. Or rather than sit opposite them in a meeting, sit on the same side of the room but a few chairs down so that its harder to make immediate eye contact?

    If you are in some sort of position to get the bully themselves to move you might try to the trick that a few university professors used to move on a rather pompous colleague. They offered the colleague a new and better office away from the main campus and the colleague took the bait and was rarely seen again.

    Tip 2 Dodging and Weaving Bullies in Medicine

    This next tip may take a bit of creativity. But if you think about it there are often all kinds of reasons not to be near a bully when you are working in a hospital or other health care environment. Perhaps a sick patient needs to be urgently reviewed. Perhaps there is a relative that needs to speak with a doctor. Perhaps you can be off collecting the XRays for the XRay meeting (OK yep I know these are mainly on the computer these days but you get where I am going with this).

    Tip 3 Slowing the Rhythm of Bullies in Medicine

    This next tip is especially effective if the doctor who is bullying you is keen on having a series of communication exchanges with you, and can work especially well if it’s something like email.

    To perfect this you will need to adopt a “passive-aggressive” approach. What you are trying to do is break the momentum of the bully so that they don’t get rewarded by the bully exchange and eventually get bored and move on.

    When a bully comes at you in full throttle it is tempting to try to respond and defend yourself. But this actually gives the bully a response and a dopamine rush which is exactly why they are engaging in the behaviour.

    So rather than fight back directly. Offer to take on board the bullies comments (criticisms) and do some research or some thinking, and indicate you will get back to them. And then take your time. Chances are they won’t follow up.

    If its an aggressive email. Park it and respond at another time. Chances are there are a number of issues that need responding to in the email. Just pick the lease controversial one and respond to it. Ignore the others and wait to see how the bully responds.

    Tip 4 Hide In Plain Sight From Bullies in Medicine

    We obviously do have to turn up to work, do our job and associate with those doctor bullies. But bullies often only notice you when they believe you’ve done something wrong or offensive. You might find it easier to “be there” but not being noticeable.

    How does this work? Try being boring. Do consistent work but not good work (at least not good work that is noticed by the bully). Be quiet when others are talking in the presence of the bully. Let them be noticed not you. Find opportunities to be more engaged in other things, such as lingering over your breaks or taking a bit longer to perform that cannula that needs to be done. Anything that has you there but in the background.

    For those of you who like wearing crazy socks to work (and I’m certainly a fan of crazy socks) perhaps this rotation is the time to get the beige ones out of the bottom of the pile instead.

    Tip 5 Find a Human Shield For Bullies in Medicine

    In Medicine, there is often several layers of hierarchy. You may for example, as a resident, find that your bully is a burnt-out senior consultant but that there are sympathetic junior consultants or specialty trainees willing to help act as a buffer or barrier for you.

    Treat these people kindly (the buffers not the bullies). Not only do we obviously need more of them in Medicine. But you will also find that they can help you more if you can minimise the attention you might draw from the bully by not only doing your job well but supporting the doctor buffering you in their job.

    Tip 6 Form a Team Against Bullies in Medicine

    As an alternative to finding a human shield, you may be able to collaborate with your peers to alternate your exposure to bullies and assholes in the workplace. Taking it, in turn, to be in the firing line and supporting and debriefing each other as you go.

    Perhaps you can make a compact with your colleague to never leave each other alone with your bully.

    Tip 7 Safe Zones For Bullies in Medicine

    The ultimate safe zone for trainee doctors to shield them from a senior bully colleague is the resident doctors’ lounge. A surprising amount of work can be done from most lounges these days with the aid of IT – checking results, calling for consults, and completing discharge summaries for example.

    Psychologically you also know that you are safe for the time that you are in the lounge and of course you often have the support of your colleagues available.

    Want a more immediate safe zone? Try the bathroom. If the bully is in full throttle and you are feeling the tears start to well up a quick dart to the bathroom could be the fix to calm your feelings and restore your resolve.

    Tip 8 Early Warning Systems

    Many bullies have good and not so good days. Having systems in place to prepare the team for a bully on a bad day can be helpful so that people can prepare, leave or hide, hide in plain sight or group together.

  • How to Make a Good Resume in 2020. Top 3 Errors And How to Fix.

    How to Make a Good Resume in 2020. Top 3 Errors And How to Fix.

    I’ve been reflecting back on the thousands of resumes and CVs I’ve reviewed this past year. I’ve been wanting to make a video and post about this topic for some time.

    It came to me one morning. I need to give you the three key tips, the three key areas where I see so many people make mistakes, which get in the way of having an effective good, great, even winning CV or resume. So what would be better than to provide you those three best tips for your Resume in 2020? Those tips are 1. Make your name the hero of the document, 2. Don’t use a photograph and finally, the most important one 3. Include a targeted personal profile or executive summary of your career at the top of your resume.

    Let’s dive deeper into the reasons why these are the top 3 tips.

    6 to 8 seconds to Review a Resume.

    So the thing about resumes and CVS is, if you know much about them, then you know that it only takes a recruiter about six, seven or eight seconds to review a resume for the first time. This 6 to 8 seconds is all the time that that recruiter needs to make some sort of decision as to whether they want to talk to you or get you in for an interview.

    So it is critical therefore that you focus a lot of your effort on the front page or the first page of your resume. Your resume’s sole job really is to get you that conversation with the recruiter or employer.

    Tip 1. Make Your Name the Hero Of Your Resume.

    Far too often do I see people putting non-essential words at the top of their resume, like “curriculum vitae” or “resume”. When we actually already know what this document is. So the first tip for maximizing your front page is to get rid of those words and any other erroneous text and just put your name in the biggest, boldest, largest font size letters you can at the top of the page.

    Because your name is the “hero” of this document. You’re trying to sell yourself to the employer and the one thing you want them to do is to remember your name.

    Because your name is the “hero” of this document. You’re trying to sell yourself to the employer and the one thing you want them to do is to remember your name.
    Dr Anthony Llewellyn
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    Tip 2. Get Rid Of That Photo.

    Which leads me to the second key point. Think carefully about whether you need a photo on your resume.

    Each and every year candidates ask me “should I be including a photo on my resume this year?” My advice this year is the same as before. Don’t include a photo, particularly if you are applying for a job in the professional realm.

    Photos are seen as ostentatious and over the top. And the other problem with including a photo on your resume that you don’t know about is if they’ve never seen you before, the recruiter begins to make up all sorts of ideas about you in their mind based on your photo and the recruiter’s unconscious biases, rather than the contents of your CV or resume. And they are spending three or four seconds looking at that photo when they should be spending those three or four seconds out of a total of six to eight seconds reviewing other parts of your resume.

    Tip 3. Incorporate An Executive Summary In Your Resume.

    My third key point and the thing I see missing so often or poorly executed on CVs or resumes is what some might call the “personal profile” or “career summary”. But what I now like to call the “executive summary”. The bit that sits at the top of your resume right under your name, that takes up about a third or half of the front page that tells your story about who you are, what your career is about, and what you can offer to the employer.

    The problem I see is this executive summary is either missing or that candidates are putting bullet points with responsibilities and things that they’ve done in the past that are of no real interest to the employer.

    So make sure you tailor that and talk about the sort of knowledge and skills and capabilities that you can bring to the job.

    But also think about what can you offer to this employer.

    • What do they need?
    • Can you offer new leads or new business?
    • Can you offer to improve processes and reduce costs?
    • Or can you actually create new value for this employer?

    Write all that down and put it at the top of your resume.

    Hi, I’m Dr. Anthony Llewellyn, otherwise known as the Career Doctor. If you are new to this blog, I make posts and videos on YouTube about the job application process. I am a real medical doctor who knows far too much about the recruitment process. If you want to check out some of my other posts then feel free to have a search around or hop on over to the Career Doctor YouTube channel by clicking on the video attached to this post.

    Related Questions

    Question. Do You Have Any Extended Information About CVs Or Resumes?

    I certainly do. Check out this post or the related posts below.

    Question. Can You Tell Me More About the Executive Summary Or Career Goal Statement?

    Again. We got that covered in this post.

    Question. I’m Really Struggling With My CV Or Resume. Can You Help Me?

    Answer. Whilst the main purpose of this post is to provide everyone with some free information about how they can empower themselves to do better in the recruitment process I do offer a range of options to get more detailed help with your CV or resume. Just look under Services in the Header or pop over to here.
  • Interview Failure. How To Not Suck At Job Interviews: 6 Success Tips

    Interview Failure. How To Not Suck At Job Interviews: 6 Success Tips

    Have you ever had an interview failure before? Did you really suck in your interview! Well, this post is about how not to suck in the job interview. As an Executive and Career Coach, I have helped many candidates prepare for job interviews as well as sat in on quite a few (both sides of the table) myself. So I wanted to share with you some tips for avoiding an #epicfail in your next job interview.

    What’s the best way to avoid interview failure and sucking in the job interview? Well, there are shortcuts and hacks of course. But like everything that is important in life. The number one way to avoid failure and succeed in your next job interview is ensuring that you have put in sufficient practice and preparation.

    The rest of this post will be dedicated to exploring this in more detail.

    Awkward Handshakes and Interview Failure.

    awkward handshake and interview failure

    bad job interview experience

    First, off the rank, let’s talk about how to enter their job interview room and not suck in the first few minutes. One of the best ways to suck in the first few crucial minutes of the interview is to do something awkward when you enter the room. The most common trap here is the handshake.

    No one wants to shake hands with a limp-wristed interview candidate. Or even worse, see someone stumbling over a desk or a chair to try and extend their hand knocking over a jug of water. That’s a really great way to get off to a bad start. You’re going to be nervous from the get-go and the panel members are going to think that you lack confidence.

    So how could we not suck at that moment? Well, my first tip here is do you really need to shake their hand in the interview? Often it’s best to take the lead of the chair of the interview panel, and the interview panel members themselves. If they don’t offer a hand. Maybe don’t offer yours. Particularly if they are set up behind the big desk or it means that you are going to have to shake more than five or six hands and a big panel interview.

    But if you are planning to go in with a power shake or really good handshake, why not practice that beforehand? If you’re one of those people who’s not used to shaking hands in social situations, and you’re planning on shaking hands in the interview, then incorporate this into your practice.

    Not Having An Example

    The second great way you suck in an interview is to not have a good example when you’re asked for it.

    In most interviews for jobs these days, there’s going to be at least one question where they say, can you tell me about a time when you did…And then it’s going to be over to you.

    What the panel is looking for are areas and examples of your past work or possibly even something in your education or even outside of education and work, where you can show that you’ve risen to that sort of challenge in the past before.

    Now it’s extremely awkward if you have not got an example of prepared and there is a big long pause and silence while you try to think of something.

    How can you know what sort of examples you need to prepare for the interview? Well if you actually go and read through the job description, you’ll find some selection criteria which give you a lot of information about the sort of examples of past work that they may want to hear from you. These would generally be about things like meeting success targets or in a team resolving conflict, and using communication skills. It depends on what the selection criteria are for the job, but if you read through those selection criteria, you can then think about your own career, your own work, your life, your academic success. And you can then think about the sort of examples that might be needed in the interview and be prepared for the day.

    Gender Stereotypes

    The next sure-fire way to suck at an interview is to fall for Gender stereotypes.

    What do I mean about gender stereotypes? These days, most interview panels are normally comprised of both male and female members of the existing team. And they may throw a question to you, which is a hypothetical situation about working in a team and you start referring to a certain team member as she or him. But they actually haven’t given you that information.

    So a classic example is inside the world of medicine where they might ask you about resolving a conflict between yourself as a doctor and a member of the nursing staff. And you start referring to that member of the nursing staff as she or her or a lady. That’s a sure-fire way of putting yourself out of alignment with any member of the panel who’s got any appreciation for gender diversity in the workplace.

    So the solution here is to avoid referring to people as she and he based on stereotypes.

    Performing in a job interview is a skill. But the problem with the job interview as a skill is that it is only a skill that you very rarely occasionally use and the rest of the time it’s meaningless.

    Dr Anthony Llewellyn | aka The Career Doctor

    Talking Too Much

    The next great way to suck at a job interview is actually talking too much.

    What do I mean by talking too much?

    In interviews, you can talk for too long in terms of your answers. You can normally tell this because you find yourself rambling on rather than being succinct and giving an organized response. Or, you can talk too much about yourself.

    When you talk too long and you talk about yourself, that means that you are not talking about the actual job you’re applying for, the organization that you want to join, the interviewers themselves, and the team that you are intending to join. You are also not talking about the teams that you’ve worked within the past and the connections you might have to other people that might be helpful in the role.

    This is all important stuff as it sells you to the panel. Far too often I hear people talking about themselves in “I terms” rather than “We terms” in relation to the successes they’ve had in their career

    You see the panel may be looking for someone brilliant, but they also don’t want someone who’s going to dominate them. They want someone who can come in and brilliantly contribute to the hardworking and high performance of the existing team.

    Silly Questions

    The next way to suck at the job interview is to ask a silly question.

    At the end of each interview there’s usually a time where the panel says something like:

    “Those are all the official questions we have for you, but do you have any questions for the panel?”

    How often have we managed to completely unravel a really good interview process by asking a silly, or stupid, or dumb question at the end of the interview?

    Examples of silly questions are questions that show you really haven’t done your basic research. Such as what are the rosters for the job, or where will I exactly be working, or who will I be reporting to? Or questions that might give the impression that it’s not really the job you are interested in, but something else. Like questions about salary.

    There are a number of ways of correcting this problem and avoiding sucking right at the end of the interview. One is to think about whether you really need to ask a question at all.

    You can often just answer that last question by saying something like. “No thanks. I’ve had enough opportunities to ask questions already. Thank you very much for the opportunity”.

    If you are really intending on asking a question then do your research and prepare a question that will dazzle them or wow them.

    At the end of each interview there’s usually a time where the panel says something like: “Those are all the official questions we havefor you, but do you have any questions for the panel?” How often have we managed to completely unravel a really good interview process by asking a silly, or stupid or dumb question at the end of the interview?

    Dr Anthony Llewellyn | aka the Career Doctor

    Can You Really Wing It?

    AdvanceMed

    Can you tell what all these points are leading up to?

    If you have had a bad interview performance before, you’ve probably thought of a few reasons why it went wrong. It might’ve been that it was a high-pressure environment and you just got stressed. It might just be that you felt you didn’t “click with the interview panel”. It might be that they asked you all the wrong questions. Or maybe you just had a bad day.

    What do all these reasons or excuses have in common?

    They all reflect the fact that you probably didn’t prepare and practice for the interview.

    Performing in a job interview is a skill. But the problem with the job interview as a skill is that it is only a skill that you very rarely occasionally use and the rest of the time it’s meaningless.

    And the problem with skills that we don’t use very often is that they degrade quite quickly. We’re not regularly practicing our interview performance. So without regular practice and preparation in the lead-up to your interview, your interview performance is likely to suck.

    So the number one tip for not sucking in the job interview is to spend the time to practice and prepare for your job interview.

    Related Questions.

    Question. Are There Things I Should Prepare Prior to the Interview?

    Answer. There are a number of things you should try to prepare prior to the interview. These range from doing your job research, to researching the panel members, as well as more practical things like putting together a portfolio of your work, making sure you have an appropriate outfit, and working out how you will travel to the interview. We have summed up a few of the questions you should ask yourself in this article.

    Question. If I Think I May Need Some Coaching For the Interview. What Should I Consider?

    Coaching is a really excellent way to maximize your interview skills practice in a short period of time. A good coach will not hold you accountable for your practice schedule but also help make improvements to your technique and interview responses. However, not all coaches are the same and a general rule of thumb is you probably pay for what you get. We have summarised some of the considerations in this article.

  • Stop Asking Weird and Dumb Interview Questions. Ask These 5 Instead.

    Stop Asking Weird and Dumb Interview Questions. Ask These 5 Instead.

    As a means for helping other doctors, at AdvanceMed we collect an open bank of real interview questions. These are questions that have been asked in a formal doctor interview process. Our community members regularly submit questions to this bank (thanks heaps by the way!). Not infrequently the questions that come through raise an eyebrow for me and I do wonder whether we are in fact providing a service to anonymously “out” weird, stupid and dumb interview questions and by proxy those that come up with them.

    Here’s a recent example from a Pathology trainee interview:

    If you can invite 3 people for dinner, who would they be? You can’t name family members. 
    Anonymous “dumb” interview question

    So what exactly is wrong with this type of question and what makes it a “dumb” interview question? Whilst there is no issue with coming up with a challenging question for the job interview. The question does still have to make sense and allow candidates to provide an answer that helps you to judge them by the selection criteria that you have set out.

    Context Is Important.

    Everything is contextual in recruitment. So a question about inviting guests to dinner might well be very relevant for say an event management position, where one of the Key Result Areas is the ability to come up with a fresh program of speakers for the event sponsor.

    But the selection criteria for most medical jobs that I have seen don’t include an event management function. They generally talk about behaviours such as demonstrating good clinical knowledge and skills, good communication, good teamwork, being professional, demonstrating ongoing learning, and practicing cultural respect and safety.

    Maybe at a real stretch, a question about inviting people to dinner could infer something about how one goes about forming a team. But I can think of a dozen betters ways of constructing a question that gets to that issue.

    Unfortunately, sometimes the doctors who attend interview panels in medicine think that because they are intelligent and perhaps have attended a one day course in recruitment and selection that they are all of a sudden an expert in human resources and recruitment and that it’s time for a “wacky interview question to challenge the candidates.”

    Perhaps they may also feel that a creative thinking type of question gives them a different perspective on the candidate? Some useful insight into their personality or communication or teamwork style. But guess what? There are actual validated psychometric employment and other psychological tests that do a much better job of this than one interview question.

    Stick To The Script.

    I’d encourage all doctors and other professionals involved in the candidate selection process to stick to the script. By which I mean stick with the principle that each interview question should form a relationship to at least one of the selection criteria for the job.

    I say this for three main reasons:

    1. This principle actually makes it easier to design good questions and establish rating criteria
    2. The information you gain from these questions from each candidate will be far more useful to you
    3. Most importantly you are also avoiding getting into the tricky area of problems with discrimination and equal employment opportunity

    Yes. That’s right. If you can’t prove how your selection process relates to the actual requirements of the position then you open yourself up to the possibility of candidates challenging the process as being unfair.

    Good Job Interview Questions. Challenging Questions That You Should Ask.

    Ok. So you have looked at the list of questions you are asking for the job and they are predictable and the same as last year. You would still like to be able to stretch the candidates a bit. What can you do?

    Here are 5 questions that you can probably use in your next medical job interview. Bearing in mind that you do still need to ensure that they line up with the selection criteria.

    Good Interview Question Number One.

    What Single Project Or Task Would You Consider Your Most Important Career Accomplishment to Date?

    Acknowledgements to Loud Adler for this question. This one question can tell a lot about a job candidate in medicine. Starting with whether they value outcomes and achievements in their work. It can also provide insights into how they go about accomplishing success, how they manage their time and incorporate feedback into their process, whether they get chosen to work on challenges and why, and how they work with others to marshall resources and create a common cause.

    There are so many supplementary questions that can be explored off the back of this one single question.

    And this question is easily related to the selection criteria of most medical jobs. For example:

    • Demonstrated ability to work effectively & harmoniously in a multidisciplinary team.
    • Demonstrated good organisational, time management and problem-solving skills within a complex clinical environment.
    • Proven commitment to ongoing learning and professional development.
    • Ability to contribute to quality improvement and / or clinical safety in the hospital.

    Good Interview Question Number Two.

    Tell Us About A Difficult Day You Had At Work
    Example Questions Are Great For Getting To the Truth

    This is one of my current favourites. Once again it requires the candidate to dig into their career and choose an example of how they have performed. This time under difficult circumstances. If the example doesn’t seem all that difficult. Then this may imply that the candidate has not been truly tested. If the example blows you away it probably means that they are up for the challenge. But its also what they found difficult and how they handled it that matters most. For some, it might be difficulties in communicating or dealing with under-resourcing. For others, it might be difficulties with the emotional impact of work. Whatever the circumstances look for evidence of personal insight, coping strategies, advocating and escalating for help and of course, relying on one’s team.

    This question is easily related to selection criteria such as:

    • Demonstrated good organisational, time management and problem-solving skills within a complex clinical environment.
    • Ability to work independently in a supervised environment and work in a multidisciplinary team

    Good Interview Question Number Three.

    Tell Us About Some Research You Discovered That Affected Your Practice.
    Example Of a Question To Explore Evidence Based Practice

    Most candidates can talk the talk when it comes to using evidence in their clinical work. But it is surprising how many are stumped when asked to actually recall an example where they have used evidence to alter theirs and their team’s approach to care.

    This question applies to selection criteria where you are wanting to see the demonstration of up to date clinical knowledge and practice (which is pretty much in every doctor position description), but often there is also a criterion about demonstrated commitment to learning and research. So it can address two criteria at the same time.

    Good Interview Question Number Four.

    What Does This Position Offer You And Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Role?
    Organizations Tend to Try To Hang On to Good Employees. So Its Important to Explore Reasons For Leaving.

    A much-overlooked question is why a candidate is applying for the position. Granted in many doctor interviews its a matter of progressing from one stage of training to the next. However, as we go up the seniority ranks there tends to be less turnover. If a doctor is a genuine asset then usually their manager is trying really hard to keep them. So there needs to be a good positive reason offered in terms of things like:

    • desiring more responsibility
    • experiences that are not on offer in the current post

    Any sign of negativity towards the current employer or service should be treated with caution. Strong candidates will be more sanguine about their current experience and less likely to say anything negative regardless of how bad the experience has been.

    This question is often a better alternative to asking candidates to either “Tell Us About Yourself?” or “Tell Us Why You Are Good For the Job?” It invites a candidate to address any or all of the selection criteria. Although in Medicine, most will tend to focus on the clinical requirements first in their answer.

    Good Interview Question Number Five.

    Could You Demonstrate To Us The Following…
    Skills Tests Are Under Utilised In Medical Interviews

    The last good question is in fact not a question but a test. And the test will again depend on the position and the selection criteria.

    In the majority of jobs, which includes medicine, there is normally a key task that is important for the role and which can be simulated in an interview environment. Successful demonstration of this task will normally address selection criteria around clinical capability as well as often communication skills.

    The “Skills Test” is used surprisingly sparingly in medical job interviews in my experience. But often very easy to deploy and quite useful.

    In a past role, I recruited doctors to fill Resident Medical Officer posts in mental health. The role required a basic ability and knowledge of mental health (we could and did teach the rest) but importantly required the doctors to have up to date medical skills.

    We would give each candidate a couple of ECG readings with a scenario which demonstrated common abnormal findings. This test was remarkably discriminating and quite reassuring in terms of hiring doctors who were able to interpret basic ECGs.

    Some other examples where a Skills Test may be relevant:

    • Resident demonstrating how to complete a pathology form or prescription
    • Surgical trainee demonstrating a knot tieing technique
    • Surgical trainee consenting interview member for surgical procedure
    • Radiology trainee interpreting and completing a report on a Chest X-Ray
    • Psychiatry trainee watching a short video of a patient and reporting mental status findings
    • Advanced Trainee being asked to give a presentation on a recent update in their field
    • Consultant being asked to prioritize a ward round list

    Related Questions About Dumb Interview Questions.

    Question. Are There Any Interview Questions That A Panel Is Not Allowed To Ask Me?

    Answer. Yes. There are. These are called discriminatory or illegal questions. There are laws in Australia and most other countries to prevent panel selecting people on the basis of background, preferences or characteristics which do not relate to the ability to perform the role. We have a post about this here.

  • 13 Questions to Ask Before A Job Interview

    13 Questions to Ask Before A Job Interview

    It’s been a bit of a peak period for interview coaching the last few months. One question that I find that I am often being asked at the end of an interview coaching program by a candidate is: “Is there anything I should be asking about before the interview?”. So what are the sorts of questions to ask before a job interview?

    There are definitely a number of key questions you should be getting the answers to prior to going into your job interview. For some of these questions, you should seek the answer from the person coordinating the recruitment. They will include the length of the interview, the format of the interview, the names and positions of the interview panel members, and whether you need to prepare anything for the interview.

    For the rest of these questions, you should be seeking the answers from yourself, and possibly your interview coach if you have one. They will include answers to what is the panel looking for, do you have any weaknesses in relation to the job, and do you have the right examples prepared for the panel.

    Let’s go over this in a bit more detail. Starting with questions you can ask of the recruiter and then questions you should be answering yourself.

    Questions to Ask Before a Job Interview – Question to Ask the Recruiter.

    I always recommend if possible that you check in with the person coordinating the recruitment a few days ahead of time. Some recruitment coordinators are very organized in providing you with information about the process. But more often than not you can find out more by being courteous and respectful.

    Remember also that this person is often also an executive assistant working with the chair of the panel. So it helps to be making a good impression. Because panel chairs often do ask about whether candidates were polite or not.

    Here are some questions to ask before a job interview of the recruiter.

    Confirm the Details of the Interview.

    Make sure you confirm the details of your interview. Because times and locations do change and sometimes can be wrong. Especially if the interview is being done across countries and time zones. How early should you arrive? Is there any paperwork that needs to be gone through prior to the interview?

    Find Out the Names of the Panel Members.

    Quite often interview panels are being pulled together at the last minute. So checking a couple of days beforehand is usually the best time to be able to find out their names. I think this is one of the most important questions to be asked as it is very difficult, if not impossible, to remember the names of interviewers if you are just introduced to them during the interview.

    Find out the position of each panel member and do your research on them. What is their role, profession, and what are their interests? This will help you to tailor your question responses effectively.

    How Long Does the Interview Go For?

    Ask about the length of the interview. How many questions will there be in total? This helps you to know how long or short your answers should be.

    Is There Anything You Should Prepare for the Interview?

    Some interview processes involve getting you to prepare a presentation as the first question or coming in early to review the interview questions. It’s good to know about these things as early as possible.

    Is There Anything You Should Bring for the Interview?

    The interview is often the time when panels will want to view your credentials and 100 points of identification and other documents like working with children checks. You should also ask if it’s ok to bring things with you to the interview. I always like to bring a portfolio of things to look at and refer to during the interview. Having the job selection criteria to look at can be particularly useful when dealing with strange questions from the panel.

    How Many Candidates Are Being Interviewed?

    You may think that this is a question where you are unlikely to get a response. But recruiters and interview panels can be surprisingly candid about these sorts of questions. And it helps to know your chances going in.

    Its also often possible to work this out based on the length of the individual interview and the total time allotted.

    If it’s a position with multiple openings try to also find out how many people the panel is wishing to hire.

    If the Interview Is a Video Interview Is It Possible to Do a Test?

    Many interviews are conducted these days using video. Usually, you are asked to go to a link on the web using a browser on your computer. It’s a good idea to find out details about the system being used beforehand. And if possible to test it out on your setup as well as trying to connect to another location to ensure that you have the right equipment and appropriate amount of internet bandwidth.

    questions to ask before a job interview

    Questions to Ask Before a Job Interview – Questions to Ask Yourself

    Arguably even more important than having full knowledge of the interview process is having full knowledge of yourself. If you put yourself through your paces before the interview you are much more likely to succeed.

    So here are some questions to ask before a job interview of yourself.

    Do I Understand What They Are Looking For?

    It may seem obvious. But between lodging that application and doing all that preparation you may have forgotten exactly what it is the panel is looking for. Review the selection criteria that came with the job description. Check out the role description and key responsibilities. Make sure you understand what competencies they are looking for so you can talk about how your own competencies demonstrate that you are a good candidate.

    Can I Paint A Compelling Picture Of Why I Am the Best Person for the Job?

    Most panel interviews start with a question along the lines of “Why have you applied for the job?” or “What makes you a good candidate?.” Make sure you have an answer to this question. What are the 3 key strengths that you bring that not only meet but exceed their expectations? Use examples and storytelling to paint a compelling picture.

    Have I Anticipated Any Key Weaknesses?

    The panel will not just be interested in any strengths you may bring to the role. They will be interested in any areas of weakness. Overall they will be generally cautious about giving someone who has significant weaknesses the job. Even if that is balanced out by significant strengths.

    So it’s important that you have honestly considered whether you are truly weak in any particular area and have a plan for addressing this weakness.

    For example, if the role calls for you to conduct research as part of the position. But you haven’t done any real research. Then you need to be prepared to talk about how you have other skills that would translate to this requirement and mean that you would not necessarily be starting from scratch.

    Have I Thought About What Questions They Will Ask?

    If you have been doing interview practice you probably have been thinking about what questions will be asked. But be careful that you are not just practising old questions that are based on outdated selection criteria.

    If you have not done any preparation at this point you should at least be going through the position description and in particular the selection criteria and coming up with at least one question for each of these.

    Have I Talked to Current Incumbents?

    A commonly overlooked but easy thing to do in your preparation is to talk to actual people who are doing the actual job that you are going for. These people can give you all sorts of insights into the key challenges of the role and phrases such as:

    “Well, when I was talking to one of the current doctors working in the role they mentioned some key things to watch out for in the first month were…”

    Will go a long way with the panel.

    Current incumbents can often also give you vital insights into the selection process.

    Do I Know What Sort of Questions I Need to Ask?

    Perhaps the final thing to think about is whether you have any questions about the job that needs answering. There is normally a period at the end of the interview when the official questions have been asked where you have a chance to ask your own questions.

    It’s important that you don’t blow your interview by asking a question to which you have already been given the answer or which doesn’t show that you have put in your research.

    On the other hand, asking a really insightful question can finish off the process on a high. It’s best to have prepared these questions beforehand rather than just winging it on the day.

    Related Questions.

    Question. Is There A Good Approach to the Final Interview Question.

    Answer. Yes, there is. This is a common “question” that I get asked about. But it depends on your individual circumstances. In many situations, it’s actually OK not to ask a question. Particularly if you don’t have a good one. Here’s a video to help you out.

    Question. When Do My Referees Normally Get Interviewed?

    Answer. This very much depends on how many candidates are being interviewed and also whether there is some form of automated referee checking system. If there are large numbers of candidates. Then the selection committee will normally wait till after the interview to check referees. They will generally start with referees for preferred candidates. So if your referees are being interviewed at this point it’s a pretty good sign.

  • Common Questions (and Answers) About AMC Standard Pathway

    Common Questions (and Answers) About AMC Standard Pathway

    Over the last year, I have been pleasantly surprised by the interest of doctors all over the world in some of the explanations that I have been providing both here on the blog as well as on my Career Doctor YouTube channel about the processes for working as a doctor in Australia. There have been a lot of questions and comments seeking further understanding about the Standard Pathway Process. So here is a list of common questions and answers to help you out.

    What is the Standard Pathway Process?

    The Standard Pathway is a process whereby doctors who have medical degrees from outside of Australia can apply to have their capability as a doctor evaluated in order to work in Medicine in Australia. The process is intended to ensure that doctors are competent to the level of Australian doctors at the point at which they graduate from medical school and go onto successfully complete a provisional intern year.

    Which Doctors Should Apply for the Standard Pathway?

    The Pathway applies to international doctors who do not have specialist qualifications and who are not from one of the “competent authority” countries. So the majority of international doctors seeking general registration do apply for this pathway.

    What Are the Competent Authority Countries?

    The medical regulatory system in Australia recognizes 4 other countries as having medical training systems that are equivalent in terms of outcomes to Australia. The countries are the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and the Republic of Ireland. Doctors from New Zealand are also recognized as having identical outcomes in their medical degree as the Australian Medical Council also accredits New Zealand medical schools.

    This means that if you graduated in medicine from one of these countries you have a more streamlined pathway available for being able to work as a doctor in Australia.

    In addition, some international doctors who have been through the process of gaining registration in a competent authority country will also be able to apply via this competent authority pathway. For e.g. if you have successfully completed the PLAB.

    What Are the Australian Medical Council Examinations?

    According to the Australian Medical Council

    The AMC examinations are set at the level of attainment of medical knowledge, clinical skills and attitudes required of newly qualified graduates of Australian medical schools who are about to begin intern training. They consist of a computer adaptive test (CAT) multiple-choice question (MCQ) examination and a clinical examination:

    • The AMC CAT MCQ Examination tests knowledge of the principles and practice of medicine in the fields of general practice, internal medicine, paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and obstetrics and gynaecology. It focuses on essential medical knowledge involving understanding of the disease process; clinical examination and diagnosis; and investigation, therapy and management.
    • The AMC Clinical Examination assesses clinical skills in medicine, surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry. It also assesses ability to communicate with patients, their families and other health workers.

    So an important thing to note here is that the AMC Exams are clinical exams and do not involve being tested around matters of basic science.

    When Can I Sit the AMC Examinations?

    You can sit for the AMC Examinations any time after you graduate from your medical school. All that is needed to sit is proof of a primary medical degree.

    You must sit and pass the first AMC Exam. The MCQ test. Prior to being able to sit for the Clinical Examination.

    Do I Need to Sit An English Test to Sit the AMC Examinations?

    Surprisingly the answer to this question is no. You won’t need an IELTS test or one of the other 3 acceptable tests in order to sit the examination. However, you will likely need one in order to apply for a job and become registered. See below.

    How Often Can I Sit the AMC Examinations?

    You can sit as many times as you wish to. But you can only be preparing for and registered to sit one particular exam at a time. Bear in mind the exams are expensive.

    Is There An Age Limit For Sitting AMC Exams.

    No. You can sit them at whatever age.

    How Long is my Exam Result Valid For?

    Once you pass an AMC exam this result remains valid for life.

    Is There a Time Limit for Sitting the AMC 2 Exam?

    No. There is no time limit by which you may sit this exam.

    How Much Does It Cost to Sit the AMC Exams?

    The AMC Exams are quite expensive. The MCQ exam costs $3,124AUD per sitting and the Clinical exam costs $3,991AUD for an in person sitting and $4,391AUD for an online. These costs are generally more expensive than most College training exams in Australia. There are also other fees that you will have to pay, for example, to establish a portfolio with the AMC, to get your certificate or reissue results.

    AMC Exam Fees 2024

    c/- AMC 2024

    How Hard Are the AMC Exams?

    In essence pretty hard. The MCQ exam is relatively ok with around about a 60% pass rate per sitting. The Clinical Examination is notoriously difficult with a pass rate of around 28%. See this post for a more in-depth explanation.

    When Is the Best Time to Sit the AMC Exams?

    The AMC Exams run constantly throughout the year with a bit of a break over the Australian summer period. There is no best time to sit from this perspective.

    As the exams are a test of your medical knowledge and abilities at the end of medical school it is generally considered that it gets harder to sit and pass these exams the longer it has been since you yourself finished medical school. So its best to sit as soon as possible. Many doctors will sit the MCQ whilst completing their own internship year in their own country.

    Is There a Waiting List for the AMC Exams?

    According to the AMC there is no wait list for the exams and no need for a wait list as they are able to offer enough examination spots to satisfy demand. This is achieved by running a number of MCQ exams both in Australia and across the world as well as having increased the number of clinical examination spots available.

    Whilst it may be true now that there is no wait list there have certainly been concerns in the past particularly in relation to waiting significant amounts of time (18 months or more) for the Clinical examination.

    The process itself also imposes a waiting period. Because once you have applied for and selected an examination date you cannot apply for another exam date. And you have to await the results of your MCQ exam before either applying to do it again or applying for the Clinical exam.

    What’s the Best Way to Prepare for the AMC Exams?

    In the AMC exams you compete against a standard. Not other candidates. So most doctors who have been successful in the AMC exams will tell you that one of the best ways to prepare is to form a small study group.

    Generally, most candidates prepare by using examples of past questions. You can purchase some official questions from the AMC. But there are also a number of other MCQ questions and Clinical stations floating digitally around the internet as many AMC candidates do attempt to recall questions after their exam.

    Given the expense of the exams themselves, it may be difficult to afford to pay for additional resources such as textbooks and online and face to face courses. Most international doctors do recommend purchasing a copy of Professor Murtagh’s book on General Practice as this covers a lot of the Australian specific knowledge for both the MCQ and Clinical. There are also a number of online tutoring and courses available as well as face to face courses and opportunities to undertake observerships if you are able to afford these.

    Follow the affiliate link below to purchase your copy of Murtagh’s General Practice.

    Can the USMLE or PLAB Substitute For the AMC Exams?

    Yes. But only if you complete all the steps required and in the case of the PLAB undertake at least 12 months supervised placement in the UK or in the case of the USMLE undertake at least 24 months in an accredited residency program. Otherwise, these exams are of no use and you have to sit all of the AMC Exams.

    Are There Other Alternatives to Sitting the AMC Exams?

    Yes. If you are from a Competent Authority Country you can apply via this pathway. If you are a specialist you can apply for the specialist pathway.

    If you are fortunate to be employed at one of the 1o places that are accredited for the Work Place Based Assessment Program by the AMC then you will also most likely have the option of completing a WBA program which is an alternative to the Clinical Component of the AMC exam with a much higher pass rate and lower cost for applicants.

    I Need to Complete An Internship. How Can I Obtain An Internship in Australia?

    You have probably read something on facebook or the Medical Board website itself telling you that you need to complete an internship to be able to be registered. In most cases, you probably do not need to complete an internship. As you will have done something similar in your own country. In general, the Medical Board wishes to see evidence that you have been granted a full license or general registration to practice in your own country. In some cases, this may require passing an internship or similar during medical school. In others, it may mean completing a provisional year after graduating.

    If you have not done any of these things so far. Then you do still need to complete an internship. But you are much better off completing this in another country. As the chances of being able to actually gain an internship position in Australia are extremely small.

    Do I Need to Sit an English Test?

    Most likely the answer to this question is yes. However, you may have some options to be exempt from this requirement if you can prove for example that all of your high schooling was in English.

    How Well Do I Need to Do In the English Test?

    There are minimum requirements for the various English Language Standard tests that you can do. For a fuller explanation see here. As an example to be able to gain registration if you sit the IELTS you need 7 or above in all four domains of this test.

    Many doctors think that achieving the minimum requirement in the English test is all that is needed. However, the minimum requirements often correlate with being less than sufficient in English in the eyes of the employer and can often mean that you are rejected for an interview in the first place or find out that your English language skills were the main reason the interview panel felt you were not suitable.

    You should endeavour to practice and build in your Australian English as much as possible and consider taking the test again to demonstrate a better score.

    When Can I Apply for a Job?

    As soon as you are successful in the AMC Part 1 you can begin applying for a medical position. Most doctors recommend this strategy and not waiting until you complete the Clinical Examination. This is because it can often take a lot of time and persistence to obtain a position. The downside of this approach is that you will probably get a lot of rejections and find yourself in a big group of candidates who all just have the AMC Part 1 exam.

    What Are the Best Jobs to Apply For?

    What job you apply for may depend on where you are intending to head in your career, particularly if you are looking at general practice. Bear in mind however that most of the doctor jobs in Australia will not be available to you until you have obtained general registration. The most common type of job that will be available is called a resident medical officer (RMO) job. These are often advertised at times during the year when hospitals have had vacancies in their ranks. The RMO role is normally a position that is one more year advanced than the intern position. But you are generally doing the same roles as interns, i.e. acting as the most junior member on the team looking after the day to day patient issues on the ward.

    A key phrase to look for in any job description which will indicate that you can apply for a position is:

    “eligible for registration”

    How Can I Improve My Prospects of Gaining a Job?

    I’d recommend you watch this video I did with Dr Naj Soomro. In it, we highlight a number of things that can help you gain a job.

    Some of the key things are:

    1. Having a really well put together resume
    2. Establishing networks to identify ad hoc job opportunities
    3. Being prepared to look outside of the major cities
    4. Preparing for job interviews

    Once I Get a Job Offer. What Happens Next?

    It is very important that you ask for a contract. There have been situations where international doctors have been offered a job in the past but this has been withdrawn at a later date. You are really not secure in your job until you have started working. It’s important that you are responsive during the phase between the offer and commencing as you will need to help the hospital sort out things like your registration and visa status.

    Once you are up and running you should make sure that you are aware of your supervision requirements and ensuring that you are getting regular feedback on your performance and completing the reports that need to go back to the Medical Board. It’s much better to identify problems in your performance early on so you can fix these rather than letting them become a big issue and jeopardizing your sign off at the end of the 12 months of limited registration.

    When Can I Apply for Training Positions?

    Once you have completed the process, ie. you have your full AMC Certificate and a satisfactory 12 month’s supervised practice you will be able to apply for general registration.

    Once you have general registration you will be eligible to apply for most of the specialty training schemes.

    There are some exceptions to this where you also require permanent residency. For example, the Australian General Practice Training Scheme and the College of Surgeons training programs. So, if you are aiming for these you will need to consider alternatives or wait a few more years till you can obtain permanent residency.

  • 5 Killer Interview Questions to Ask Employers. And When to Use Them.

    5 Killer Interview Questions to Ask Employers. And When to Use Them.

    Most job applications still include a panel interview process as one of the final steps in selecting candidates. As part of this panel interview process, it is almost universally the custom to ask candidates at the end of their interview if they have any questions of their own. I am often asked by my coaching clients how best to respond in this situation. What are the best interview questions to ask employers? There is a myriad of approaches but here are 5 of my favourites.

    In relation to the question about what question or questions, you should ask. The first point is that you do not actually need to ask a question. You can politely thank the panel for their time and indicate that all your questions have been answered already. You can also choose to use this opening as an opportunity to improve on one of your answers or talk about a strength that has not come out in the interview.

    In terms of actual questions. If you haven’t been told already then it is often a good idea to ask a question about when the decision of the selection process will be made. Or you can ask a “future-focused” question, such as how will my performance be measured. Or you can actually ask the panel for some feedback about your interview performance.

    Let’s go ahead and explore these 5 approaches in more detail. Including giving some examples of where each works best.

    As a bonus. At the end of this article, I will also tell you about the best interview question I ever heard from a candidate.

    interview questions to ask employers

    You Don’t Always Need to Ask a Question.

    Many candidates are of the opinion that they should have a good question prepared to ask at the end of the interview process in order to impress the panel further. Clearly part of the point of the interview is for you to impress the panel. But this needs to be done with authenticity. So it’s best to avoid trying to “contrive” a question to ask and remember that it’s your time and your interview.

    If as part of your research you haven’t come up with a question worth asking, then, in my opinion, you are better off investing your time in other ways of preparing for the interview (such as practising panel questions). Rather than agonizing over developing a truly insightful question.

    It’s absolutely OK to not ask a question at the end of the interview process. But it’s important that you handle this part of the discussion well. Most importantly you need to make it clear why you don’t have any questions.

    Its perfectly okay not to have interview questions to ask employers. So long as you had done your research already.

    The ideal situation for not asking a question is one where you have had plenty of opportunities to ask questions already.

    For most of the job clients that I work with this tends to happen in relation to batch recruitment events. Such as the annual medical recruitment process where each year a number of doctors are given the opportunity to apply for higher-level training positions.

    In these situations, there is usually a lot of time to prepare for the interview. As well as information provided via websites, one to one contact and information sessions.

    Another scenario where this often occurs is for senior medical practitioner appointments, where often you have the chance to have an informal discussion with the chair of the panel prior to putting in your application.

    A typical approach, therefore, would be something like:

    Thanks. I don’t have any crucial questions at this stage of the process. The information you have provided me already via the [applicant package/information session/phone call…] was really useful. I’d like to thank you for the opprunity and look forward to hearing about the outcome of the process.

    Suggested words if you don’t want to ask a question

    *As an adjunct, many of the panel members that I talk to about this. And I talk to many. Are of the opinion that it is best not to ask a question if you don’t have a good one. See the end of this blog post for examples of questions you should not ask.

    You Can Make a Statement. Rather Than Ask a Question.

    Remember. It’s Your Interview. The time at the end of an interview is your last chance with the panel. And in many cases, they are probably running a bit over time and seeing this as more of a polite process rather than expecting you to engage in a long discussion with them.

    That being said. You don’t want to leave the room if you feel that anything you have said so far may have reflected badly upon you. OR that there is something that you have not said, which needs to be said.

    So. In both of these cases, what I recommend is rather than use this time to ask a question. Use it to address these issues.

    So, for example, if you felt you missed out on something important in one of your question responses. You may say something like:

    Thanks. I don’t have a question. However, if its ok, I would just like to go back to the second question and add to my answer that I would of course also place oxygen on the patient.

    Example of correcting an error in your interview.

    Or. If you haven’t made an error. But the panel hasn’t given you an opportunity to talk about your strengths. You can say something like this:

    Thanks for the opportunity. I don’t have a question per se. However, I just wanted to highlight a couple of additional items on my CV in reference to my managerial skills. I know from the selection criteria that you are looking for abilities in this area. But we didn’t get to touch on these and I think they will be helpful for you in considering my application.

    Example of using the time to highlight more strengths.

    Ask When the Decision Will Be Made.

    It may not be immediately obvious. But for many selection processes, the outcome may not be clear. A good safe question to ask (politely) therefore is when will the decision be made?

    Obviously don’t do this if you have already been told. Which may mean checking back through your emails first. And also watch out as sometimes the chair of the panel covers this at the start of the interview or often more frequently just at the end.

    Finding out this information can serve a useful purpose.

    Firstly, it gives you an opportunity to time your thank you email. So, if the answer to the question is in 5 days time, send a quick follow up email 3 days later. Don’t ask about the result. Just thank them for the opportunity. Its just a simple reminder that you are an interested candidate. And it may make the difference.

    Secondly, it may also give you a hint as to whether your referees have been contacted already or (more likely) will be contacted and via which mechanism. This also then gives you time to follow up with your referees. You can let them know what sort of questions the panel asked and (re)brief them on your strong points.

    Ask For Some Feedback.

    A significant proportion of the clients that I work with have had an unsuccessful interview in the past. These problems have generally been compounded by the fact that when they have gone back to ask for feedback. The feedback that they have been provided (if any) has been largely unhelpful.

    This is not surprising. Interview panels are not really thinking about providing feedback to unsuccessful candidates. They are thinking about how to choose the successful ones. They often see a number of candidates in one session. So, unless something is written down specifically, it is actually hard to recall the specifics. In addition, panels are also often wary about what type of feedback is provided so as not to lead to the risk of the selection outcome being challenged.

    There is however one good opportunity to get some useful feedback about your interview performance. And that is at the end of the interview itself. When your performance is fresh in the mind of the interviewers.

    The benefit of asking for feedback at the actual interview is two-fold:

    1. You get the opportunity to get some real and authentic feedback that can help you in the future
    2. You show the panel that you are not afraid to ask for feedback in a high-stakes situation, which should translate in the mind of the panel to perceiving you as someone who will take on board feedback when offered

    So to ask for feedback you would say something like this:

    Yes. I understand that you can’t tell me the results of the interview at this point. But I was wondering if you would be able to give me some feedback on my interview performance? It may help me to improve for next time. Perhaps there was a particular question I could have done better on.

    Example of how to ask for feedback at the end of the interview.

    Please note in the above example I have suggested you ask for feedback on something you could have done better on. This is generally better than asking for feedback on something you did well. If you give the panel the opportunity to highlight an area of strength they will probably do that to avoid being too confronting. However, what you really want is something you can improve on.

    Ask a Future-Oriented Question.

    More often than not, this is my favourite last question approach. However, I would generally only use it if you feel that the interview has gone well.

    The idea is to leave the panel thinking about you as a member of their team. If they are thinking seriously about what it would be like to have you on the team then you are very much in the running to get the position.

    A standard approach here would be to ask the panel to give you some insight into the first few months on the job. So a question like:

    Would you be able to describe to me what sort of outcomes you would be looking to see from me in the first 6 months and how I would know I was successful?

    Example of asking a future oriented question.

    Can be a really powerful question on a number of levels.

    Firstly, it gets the panel thinking about your first 6 months on the job.

    Secondly, it gives the panel the message that you want to succeed and are interested in measuring your success.

    Thirdly, it also provides you as the job candidate with some vital information about the team that you may be about to join. In that, if they can give a thoughtful answer to this question. They are probably a team worth joining. And if they haven’t really considered this question. You may want to rethink whether you want to work for them.

    The Best Candidate Interview Question I Ever Heard.

    I promised at the start of this post that I would share with you the best ever response to the final question that I heard (obviously as part of an interview panel). Whilst I have been on many medical interview panels in my time. The actual best question came from an interview I was involved in for a health manager role. And it wasn’t so much the question that I remember but also the approach to it.

    We were looking for someone with strong project management skills and the ability to work with the existing team, which had a reputation for being disruptive in a good way, but this reputation did not suit every candidate. On our panel was me as the chair, the team member who would be the new hire’s manager and a job expert, who would be the new hire’s colleague.

    The person we were interviewing had impressive credentials and was equally impressive in her responses to our questions. What sealed it for me, however, was her insightful question at the end.

    She chose to not look at me nor the potential new manager. But directly looked at the job expert (team member) on the panel and asked:

    What do you like about working here?

    Now. Others may be not so impressed by this question. But as someone who does highly value culture in teams. I was blown away by the fact that the candidate chose to dig into the team culture and bypass the management layers to get a more authentic response.

    Interestingly it figures as the first question on this list of suggested questions to ask at the end.

    Footnote. We offered this person the job. But unfortunately, she had been interviewing with other organisations and we were pipped at the post.

    Related Questions:

    Question. Are There Any Particular Questions I Should Not Ask At the End of the Interview?

    Answer. Yes. There are a number of areas you should steer clear of. They basically involve any question that might cause the panel to doubt your passion and interest for the work versus the actual job.

    So. Questions about salary levels or arrangements. Concerns about overtime or secondments. Or requests to not work with certain teams. Are best left to another stage of the process.

    Question. Is There Anything Else I Should Consider Doing at the End of the Interview?

    Answer. You should always check with the chair of the panel if they are finished with you for the time being. Sometimes the person administering the interview process may want you to sign some forms and/or show them some documents, like identification or working with children’s checks.

    If you are unfamiliar with the organisation and have not worked there before. It’s probably also a good idea to have a look around after the interview. This is helpful to you and also shows your genuine interest in the job. It’s best, however, to arrange for a tour ahead of time. Rather than just raise it as an idea at the end of your interview.

    Question. Should I Shake Hands At the End of the Interview?

    Answer. This is a tough one to answer emphatically. In general, it’s best to take your queue from the panel. If they offer a hand then you should shake it. Otherwise, it’s ok to just leave with a smile on your face.

  • How To Predict Interview Questions. A Sure-Fire Method With Examples.

    How To Predict Interview Questions. A Sure-Fire Method With Examples.

    Are you looking for an easy way to predict the types of questions you will get at your job interview? I’ve worked with lots of candidates for various jobs both inside and outside of medicine and there is a reasonably simple and straightforward method that I show these clients which can help you to predict interview questions for the majority of questions that you will normally be asked during the interview. And this method also set you up for any unexpected “curveball” type questions.

    So how can you tell what sort of questions you are going to be asked during the interview? The simple answer to this is that the genesis of each interview question should come from the selection criteria that are attached to the job description. If you can identify these selection criteria then you can also identify the types of skills, strengths, evidence and examples the panel will be looking for in the interview and practise questions formatted in the various interview question styles.

    Whilst, it’s never 100% possible to completely predict the actual question you may be asked. I find that this sort of analysis paired with an intensive practice regimen will pick up about 80% of the actual questions fairly closely. But it’s always possible for the interview panel to go “off-script” on occasion, especially on medical panels, where some of the panel members can view themselves as self-taught experts in the process. For these occasions, I have a couple of other methods so you can handle the more odd question comfortably as well.

    For the rest of this article, I will take you through my method for identifying questions in more detail. Give you a couple of examples and then talk about a couple of more tips to have you extra prepared.

    How to Predict Interview Questions Step 1. First Find the Selection Criteria.

    When you know how and where to look. It’s actually pretty easy to predict most of the questions you will be asked.

    So here is a typical Senior Resident Medical Officer job from the NSW Health site.

    Typical SRMO Post
    SRMO Post

    You can see that its for a role in Intensive Medicine.  So the sort of doctor who might be applying for this role is someone in their third year of Medicine who is looking at potentially training in ICU or perhaps Anaesthesia in the future.

    These jobs aren’t formally accredited for training.  So they are almost 100% done as a small panel interview with perhaps 3 or 4 people on the panel.

    So its obviously worth reading through the whole position description to see if it is a job that is good for you.

    But once we have decided we are interested in the job.  If we want to work out the sort of questions we will get asked then we need to look at the Selection Criteria.  Because in most countries like Australia the common practice (and normally also the policy) is to ask questions based on the selection criteria. Here are the Selection Criteria:

    Typical Selection Criteria
    Selection Criteria

    In theory, you should not be asked a question which is not related to one of the selection criteria.

    So for this job we have 8 selection criteria which is the maximum allowed in NSW Health. Let’s look at some of these criteria. I am going to skip over the first one which is about having a medical degree and being registered with the Medical Board. You will need to be able to prove this when you apply.  So you are not going to be asked a question about this.  Unless there is a specific doubt or query about the evidence you have given.

    Questions About Relevant Experience

    Lets look at Selection Criteria number 2.

    “Completion of at least two postgraduate years including relevant experience in intensive care medicine.”

    On the surface, this seems similar to the first criteria.  In that, you either have this or don’t have this. But there are actually a few ways this criterion could come up as a question

    AND a few ways of answering it.

    The first way this criterion could come up is in what I call “The typical opening or first question.” Panels often like to kick off the interview with a question that gets the candidate to talk about themselves. So you might be asked something general like:

    “Why are you a good candidate for this role?”

    OR even more general like

    “Why are you interested in this position?”

    Or more specific and more targeted to the criteria. Like

    “Can you outline how your experience makes you suitable for the position?”

    If the panel was to ask this question in a behavioural format.  Which they often like to.Then they might ask a question like:

    “Can you give us an example of how your experience so far has prepared you for this role?”

    Every Question Is An Opportunity to Highlight Your Strengths.

    Now.  I have just given you 4 questions that fit one selection criteria. So, you could now go off and practice all 4 questions. But actually, whilst the format of answering each of these questions will differ slightly. The content will generally remain the same.

    With each and every question it’s an opportunity for you to emphasise your strengths to the panel. So in this instance, you would:

    1. Give an outline of your experience so far.  Especially if it is more than 2 years.
    2. Talk about any specific experience in intensive care if you have had some.
    3. But also talk about related experiences and training, such as working in emergency OR doing an advanced life support course OR being given the opportunity to participate on a Medical Emergency Team
    4. And give the best example of a case of a patient requiring urgent or intensive care and how you contributed to that case and displayed skills and competencies relevant to intensive care.

    Demonstrating the Ability to Work Independently.

    Let’s look at one more of these criteria. Let’s look at number 3.

    “Demonstrated ability to work independently in a supervised environment”

    More often than not.  The most likely way this selection criterion will be assessed is through a clinical scenario.

    If you undertake any coaching with me or take my interview skills course.  We talk about how the clinical scenario is both an assessment of your clinical knowledge but also an assessment of your ability to seek help and access other resources.

    So, you are likely to be given a scenario where you have to have a method and approach for assessing a sick patient.  But there will be a point where the panel expects that you discuss when you would seek help from more senior colleagues.  And this is likely to be the more critical part of the question.

    The approach to the question is to show a balance between being able to act calmly in a situation, collect information and conduct an initial assessment and then use your assessment to gain input from the senior colleague.

    Once again.  As always.  An example.  It doesn’t need to be the exact scenario but just something similar.  That demonstrates how you have actually done this before in real life is EXTREMELY POWERFUL. 

    Some Other Tips For Being Prepared For the Interview.

    Question Banks.

    Another great tip for making sure you have practised the questions that you may be asked at the interview is to find out from previous candidates what sort of questions they have been asked.

    You will find that if you ask around you will often be handed a bunch of “past questions”.  If you get enough of these you will start to notice a bit of a pattern. That is the questions will start to repeat themselves.  They may not be exactly the same.  But in essence, they are the same question.

    This is because medical position descriptions generally don’t change much year to year.  So you can be fairly confident in using these questions to practice.  And if you practice enough of them.  Then you will find that you are familiar with most of the questions you get asked.

    By the way, we have a page on the AdvanceMed site that lists over 500 interview questions. Categorized by various job titles.  It’s worth exploring.  Even if there are not many questions for your particular position. You will probably find questions under other categories are easily adapted.

    Prepare an Example for Each Criterion.

    My last tip is to have a good example for each of the selection criteria. This is useful.  For a couple of reasons.

    Firstly. You probably have had to do this anyway when you addressed the selection criteria in your application.

    Secondly. Even if you are given a bit of a curveball question and you weren’t prepared for it.  Having an example for each selection criteria will probably give you something to talk about that is relevant to that “curveball question”.

    So that’s how you can work out the sorts of questions you may be asked at the interview.

    If you are looking for even more guidance you may want to look at purchasing our book

    Or check out the courses and coaching available through this site.

    Related Questions.

    Question. Where’s a Good Place to Find Evidence for the Selection Criteria?

    Answer.

    I find a good place to start is your CV. Look at each selection criteria and then go through your CV and highlight areas that meet that criteria. Ask yourself is there enough detail here? Are there quantifiable results or a good example? If not you probably want to add these into your CV for this particular job application.

    Question. Why Do Interview Panels Like to Ask Behavioural Questions?

    Answer.

    Behavioural questions are when the panel asks you for an example from your past that demonstrates a selection criterion. This is based on some reasonable evidence from organizational psychology and human resources research that asking for an example is more predictive of future performance than an answer to a hypothetical question. Its based on the principle that past performance predicts future performance.

  • Should Colleges Be Able to Charge a Fee to Applicants?

    Should Colleges Be Able to Charge a Fee to Applicants?

    I was recently alerted to a concerning trend in medical training in Australia which is to make trainee doctors pay for the college selection process through a cost-recovery process. With some colleges now charging over $1,000 just so a trainee can go through the process of applying for training with no guarantee of a post at the end of this.

    A Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is a form of psychometric test used now in many industries to aid employers to select the best candidate for the role. Its purported benefit is that, rather than being an “off-the-shelf” test, it is specifically designed or selected to mirror the types of challenges and dilemmas an employee might be required to deal with on the job. In theory its a more direct measure of actual job related behaviour.

    If an employer was to decide that they wish to use a psychometric test in a job selection process then they would normally include this in the sequence of other selection tools, generally prior to the main interview round, and organise for the potential candidates to sit this test at the employers expense.

    Many of the medical colleges in Australia have made efforts of late to improve the quality of trainee selection. This includes utilising tests like the SJT. As a passionate advocate for evidence-based selection I applaud these moves. However, I was recently alerted to a concerning trend in medical training in Australia which is to make trainee doctors pay for the college selection process through a cost-recovery process. With some colleges now charging over $1,000 just so a trainee can go through the process of applying for training with no guarantee of a post at the end of this.

    The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists now charges a non-refundable fee of $1200 AUD. But does not indicate in its official information what this fee is for. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecolgists advises that “all applicants will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee in order to apply for a training position” of $570 and that “applicants shortlisted for interview will be required to pay a non-refundable interview fee” of $880. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons applies a “processing fee” for trainee applications of $880. The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists have an application fee of $740.

    But not every college charges an application fee. Some, including the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists only choose to charge a registration fee if trainees are actually selected into training.

    My view is that a small application fee is perhaps reasonable in some cases, particularly high demand specialties, in order to discourage excessive and frivolous applications. But efforts to make trainee doctors pay for the actual cost of the process of selection are unwise and unfair. And particularly risk discriminating against many members of the medical community who may not be able to afford such significant fees for a host of reasons.

    What About Specialist Assessments?

    And the issue does not stop with the matter of trainee doctor applications. If you are an international medical graduate and specialist be prepared to part with tens of thousands of dollars in some cases to go through the full specialist assessment & recognition process.

    What Are The Issues?

    There are a number of issues here.

    First, is the need for colleges to have some form of selection into training that seeks out the best candidates, but is also transparent fair and encourages diversity.

    Second, is the cost of carrying out this process which would include things like the costs of college professional staff time, the lost opportunity cost of the time spent by college Fellows involved in the selection process, the cost of developing the selection process (SJTs are not cheap to develop), as well as potentially travel and accommodation and venue hire costs, IT costs and other costs. So significant costs.

    Third, is the question whether colleges should behave the same as employers in this situation or be allowed to act differently because they are not employers? Which then draws in the issue that colleges act in a legal monopoly situation in this country. In that, through their membership, they control who is permitted to provide certain services, thus making membership of a college particularly valuable.

    Fourth, is the acknowledgement that costs do inevitably need to be borne by someone or something.

    To the above I will also add the question. Why do some colleges choose not to apply a selection fee or cost-recover when some do?

    Are Colleges Really That Different to Employers of Trainees?

    I don’t buy the argument that colleges are not employers (and therefore don’t have to act like employers). Colleges still operate as businesses to fulfill the needs of their members. Colleges are in fact in the business of making Fellows. They just don’t have to deal with competition in an open market, like most other employers.

    If you lived in a small rural town and the only supermarket started charging application fees to young members of the community interested in working at the supermarket. Would that be a fair and ethical situation?

    Trainee doctors are generally in a better financial position than a supermarket worker and can arguably afford a moderate application fee. But relative remuneration for trainee doctors has declined of late with significant reductions in hospital over time. And I have discussed on this blog before how specialist doctors are able to make significantly more remuneration than the trainee doctors who support them.

    And it is not 100% the case that a trainee doctor can afford the significant costs required to get into a training scheme and remain on it. These costs start with paying off around $50,000 of university HELP debt or perhaps servicing a loan of $250,000 if you pay up front fees. They can then include paying tens of thousands of dollars for a Masters Course or several thousands of dollars for various short courses to improve your selectability prospects with a college. Then there is whatever application or interview fee that is posed by the college. And once you are into training around 2 or 3 thousand dollars per year of training fees, plus various examination and assignment marking fees that generally add a few more thousand dollars per year to the cost.

    Why Fairness and Transparency Is Not Enough

    If you have been privileged enough to grow up in a middle or higher income family with financial support, free room and board, and you are working as a resident now then you are probably managing these costs okay.

    But imagine if you are the first person from your family and community ever to do medicine. Imagine if you and your family had to scrap and sacrifice to get you through medical school. Imagine if you were having to work more than part-time just to make it through medical school. You are now a resident but your debt situation, your financial security and discretionary capacity is likely to still be far worse than the example of the doctor above.

    Imagine adding to this that you are a single parent doctor who needs to work part-time. Yes these doctors do exist in resident land and they are some of the most courageous doctors you will ever meet.

    You can perhaps see now why just having a fair and transparent selection process with a fee of over $1000 is not OK. As it actually can serve as a real barrier to some candidates. Fairness and transparency is not enough in candidate selection as these principles on their own do not encompass the reality that not every candidate comes to the selection process on the same level footing.

    The Privilege of Fellowship

    The day one becomes a Fellow of a College, as I have, is truly a pivotal day. Not just in ones career but also ones life. It opens you up to all manner of freedoms and opportunities that you just don’t get if you only have general registration. Its a position of privilege that society has elected, through the activities of Colleges, to give to you and (depending on the college) a few other hundred or thousand other doctors.

    Most Fellows of colleges have and continue to respect this privilege. They do this in many ways. One of these is to pay college fees to pay for college staff and resources and another is to contribute on a voluntary basis to the work of the college. Traditionally, this is how the majority of the cost of performing the activity of selection into training has been borne in colleges.

    I would argue that this should for the most part remain the cases. Colleges cannot exist without trainees. Selection into training is a business cost for colleges.

    As to why some colleges choose not to have an application fee. I suspect in some cases it is because these colleges strongly feel that they need more members and do not want to impose unecessary barriers.