Understanding the healthcare system

There are a number of courses available that aim to familiarise overseas trained doctors (OTDs) with the Australian health system and ease a doctor’s transition into supervised training. These courses are not compulsory, but are highly recommended. They tend to run over a period of a few days to 6 weeks.

DoctorConnect presents an overview of the Australian health system, to provide a basic understanding for OTDs.

Some of the clinical bridging courses and cultural awareness courses also include training on the healthcare system.

You might also try contacting the Postgraduate Medical Councils or Rural Workforce Agencies for information on available courses.

The Department of Health and Ageing is currently developing an online training program for the Australian healthcare system. The website should be available later in 2006, so watch this space.

In addition, a number of the Specialist Medical Colleges are being funded by the Department to develop various orientation programs. The first one of these---the online orientation program of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG)---is now available from their website.