Training and education

Training and education has a vital and ongoing role for the medical profession---whether to assist in gaining recognition, registration or Fellowship, or as part of ongoing professional development. This section outlines training options available to overseas trained doctors (OTDs).

A number of Bridging courses have been designed to assist OTDs in gaining Australian medical registration and introducing them to the Australian health system.

Cultural awareness courses may help you to better understand how Australians speak, behave and think, so that you will be able to adjust more quickly to medical practice in Australia and better relate to your patients. Some of these courses can also provide valuable insight into rural and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, including particular health issues of concern to these groups.

Naturally, the ability to speak and understand English proficiently is a vital part of medical registration for OTDs in Australia and you will find very useful information in this section.

Alternatively, your interest may be specifically in postgraduate training, whether through a formal course, or in a clinical setting as an occupational or postgraduate trainee.

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.