Medical emergency

International medical students could miss out on their crucial internships after an agreement between federal and state health ministers refused to guarantee them places.

The financial viability of Australia's medical schools could be under threat if a government decision to only guarantee intern places to domestic Commonwealth-supported students is adopted. And, in a classic case of cutting of your nose to spite your face, the decision would also stem the flow of Australian-trained doctors in a profession deemed to be suffering from critical skill shortages by the federal government - and which attracts priority treatment under general skilled migration. As a result of the decision by state and federal health ministers in February, international students...