Australia ‘needs’ international med students

I agree with Prof Hawthorne: Australia will remain dependent on overseas trained doctors and international students for the foreseeable future, since they will accept placements in ‘areas of need’ that domestic students will not take up. Medical schools churn out increasing numbers of graduates and numbers alone will not solve Australia’s medical workforce problems. We’ve tried sticks in the past, carrots in the present, and neither have worked. There needs to be a change in the nature of graduates’ expectations so that they see the real benefits professionally and ethically in spending some time away from urban practice.