Australia has more doctors per population than most comparable countries, yet many living in rural and remote areas don’t receive the care they need. Changing the way we train doctors will fix this.
Nurses and midwives are among society’s most highly valued professionals. But a disturbing national picture is emerging of escalating levels of over-work and burnout.
Highly engaged doctors do much better on a wide range of important measures, from clinical performance, financial management and safety indicators to patient experience and overall quality standards.
Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence will today hear how the health system can better respond to partner abuse, with the help of trained professionals and broader, government support.
If you present to a hospital on the weekend, you have a higher chance of dying than if you present during the week. This is known as the “weekend effect”.
Much of the fear of cancer arises from a lack of control, so I’m at my happiest when a patient with a new diagnosis comes in bewildered and shaken and leaves my office feeling a modicum of control.
The widespread bullying of doctors during training is not just an issue for surgeons, or women. It’s a problem for all medical professionals – and it poses a risk to patient safety.
Three features of a medical school help predict where medical students will eventually work as doctors: selection, the curriculum, and the professionalism of the newly-qualified doctors.
In a high-pressure surgical environment, where older male consultants dominate, and there is great competition for training positions and jobs, women are vulnerable to sexual harassment.
At a ceremony in Townsville today, four people will graduate from James Cook University’s physician assistant program. They will be Australia’s first bachelor’s graduates in that field. This is an important…
New medical technologies and treatments over the past few decades have led to remarkable improvements in treating older patients. The annual death rate for an 80-year-old male in 2011 was just 5.6%, compared…
Qualifications and their associated titles allow for quick identification of appropriately trained or recognised experts within a given field. They bestow legitimacy on the information provided to people…
Health care is a tough nut for governments because it’s the largest source of growth in government spending. Salary costs are the major part of this cost so workforce policy decisions have profound implications…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne