Basic Physician training Careers advice

Points to choosing a specialty Must be interested Must enjoy it Should suit you lifestyle Able to commit to the time required to complete the training – (will be different as you progress through) Can you imagine yourself in the consultant’s role? “People you wanna work with” Christian McGrath “The betterment of society” Mandeep Kalsi

“People you wanna work with” “The betterment of society” Christian Mcgrath “The betterment of society” Mandeep Kalsi “It’s fascinating” Madeleine Cosgrave “It’s cool to know everything” ‘anonymous’

What do I do…. 1. How did you end up in your career/ position 2. Reflect on your career- the pros and cons 3. Reflect on your lifestyle 4. What would you do differently?

Why choose to be a physician You should like HUMANS Having ongoing continuity of care Complex problem solving, challenging work Interacting with patients, family members and other staff, working in teams The ‘journey’ not the ‘destination’ – there are few ‘quick fixes’, sometimes your goals of care may seem small but can a have a great impact on your patients quality of life

Training programme Can join after intern year, deciding after HMO 1 is Ok but you may need to do extra time Complete three years of basic physician training Sit clinical and written exam in the same year (as early as 3rd year of basic training) Apply for a specialty training programme – the year you sit the exam

BPT training 3 years (generally HMO2-4) Pay up prospectively to RACP, allocated supervisors Need 44 weeks specialty experience in 3 years Need 12 weeks non level-3 hospital Exams during BPT 3 year: Written exam February Clinical exam July

BPT Recruitment From 2020, Austin and Northern are separating recruitment Northern will begin recruiting own BPT1s from next year Expect just over 20 positions BPT 2 and BPT3 to split subsequent years Can complete all BPT at Northern Health Rural rotations to Horsham (BPT2/3)

Advanced training Need to apply just after the clinical exam in BPT3 year Most medical specialties: 3 – 4 years Few have further exams, most are about working under supervision in the area + research Competition to get AT position in popular specialties Enjoy being in a senior position working in a collegial way with consultants Increased number of general medical advanced training positions

Consultant Jobs Increasingly difficult to get full time public job Push to completing a higher degree MD or PHD to compete for inner city, tertiary public hospital jobs Opportunities in growing hospitals (Northern, Western, Geelong and rural areas) Can do part time or sessional work as well as private work or combinations of these Can have control over your timetable as well as on call and after hours commitments Some will have to go to the country in order to get full time work

Work life balance Basic trainees do lots of weekends and nights but initial study commitment not too much For the 18 months preparing for the exams, will spend most of your time working or studying, the balance will be skewed Advanced trainees do less weekends and nights (depends on specialty) but have some projects and study - generally better work life balance As a consultant you can set your own limits on the commitments you make

Remuneration Trainees - gradual increase in Salary (different in different states) Consultant reasonable increase in Salary – start ~ $160 000 plus salary packaging, CME ($21000 F/T) and superannuation Private work may increase salary, but need to Mx finances and account for loss of super, holiday pay and sick leave Will be less than those who do procedures or surgery

Other Tips Taking more time to train is not always a disadvantage Part time work is still difficult but we can consider options – discussion with units re rosters working hours etc Consider combining research/ higher degree with advanced training Consider travelling to other states or overseas during advanced training or as junior consultant +/- further research /fellowship

Central North West Basic training consortium- (Austin, Northern, Bendigo, Wimmera ) Rotations through hospitals (better experience and exposure) Each hospital has lecture series, regular clinical tutes, mock exam (ex Wimmera) Website:Central North West Consortium

Physician Training

Physician Training 3+ years

Physician Training 3+ years 3+ years

Physician Training EXAMS 3+ years 3+ years

BPT application - online through RACP website BPT application - online through RACP website. - retrospective more difficult- do it prospectively! - closing date 28th February Apply to a medical stream position

What it looks like BPT1: Fun/ fascinating/ all things great! Specialty and gen med rotations at HMO level Good year to start getting some research on your CV Encourage you to read up on the cases you see. Good year to up-skill: Communication workshops Advanced Life Support

What it looks like BPT 2: Get a study group…and so it begins…. Start studying! (generally around Feb/ March) College lectures- weekly One week exam prep course (eg- DeltaMed) leave will be allocated for this. Lots of other medical courses out there- $$ Mix of specialty HMO jobs/ med reg jobs

What it looks like BPT3 Medical Registrar year THE EXAM YEAR! February: WRITTEN Exam Two parts: basic science and clinical Mock exam run through Consortium July: ORAL exam LOTS of tutes between Austin/Northern/Bendigo Mock exams Specialty training days August: Advanced Training job applications! Post September: smartest doctor in the hospital, too much free time.. NOTE: Consortium rosters arranged to ensure you are in Melbourne in the lead up to the Written and Oral Exam. So rural rotations are at start of BPT2 and at end of BPT3

BPT Recruitment From 2020, Austin and Northern are separating recruitment Northern will begin recruiting own BPT1s from next year Expect just over 20 positions BPT 2 and BPT3 to split subsequent years Can complete all BPT at Northern Health Rural rotations to Horsham (BPT2/3)

Why Choose NH for BPT? Our staff! Northern has amazing teaching & supervision Smaller friendlier hospital- same city experience but with the added bonus of a smaller close knit team Friendly, approachable and engaged, enthusiastic ward consultants and DPEs Excellent, well established educational program embedded into the culture Comprehensive written and clinical exam tutorial programs Joint training program continues with the Austin Mock exams for written and clinical Pass rates for written and clinical >80%

Why Choose NH for BPT? Diverse and complex patient population providing interesting clinical experience Growing hospital with future opportunities Strong General Medicine focus Already broad but expanding speciality mix A great foundation of experience for all future training Can complete all training with NH General, Specialty and Regional rotations

General Medicine @ NH Strong General Medicine focus Admit most medical patients, including younger & undifferentiated 6 medcial units at TNH plus 1 unit at Broadmeadows Frequent consultant ward rounds Extended Observation Unit (EOU2) – short stay medical patients Assessment Medical Team (AMT) – review new med admissions HMO Medicine jobs – AMT, EOU, BH Medicine, Obstetric Medicine Medical Registrar positions- AMT, EOU, HITH, General Medical Unit, Specialty clinics Rotation to Horsham- proper regional experience! Grampians!

General Medicine @ NH

Medical Specialties @ NH Expanding array of Specialty Medicine at Northern Fastest area of patient growth Stroke Neurology Renal Cardiology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Infectious diseases Haematology Oncology Medical Obstetrics Respiratory Acute Aged Care (BH) Aged Care Palliative Care Rheumatology, Dermatology consult services

Medical Specialties @ NH Specs HMO positions Haematology, oncology, renal, gastroenterology, respiratory, endo/rheum, neurology, stroke /ACU, infectious disease, cardiology, aged care, palliative care, ICU BPT junior registrar positions Advanced Trainee cover positions Further expansion expected in coming years Advanced trainees in all specialties (including General Medicine)

Future Opportunities Growing Health Service Expanding Research Base Future includes further development of specialties New tower opening 2021 (will need more medical staff) More consultants will be needed in the future so long term job opportunities at Northern Health

New Tower -2021