Medical Specialists

Specialist Training Program - Priority Framework

The Specialist Training Program (STP) is designed to provide opportunities for medical specialist trainees to rotate through an expanded range of settings beyond traditional public teaching hospitals, in pursuit of becoming a fellow of a recognised specialist medical college.

PDF version: STP Priority Framework (PDF 60 KB)

The Specialist Training Program (STP) is designed to provide opportunities for medical specialist trainees to rotate through an expanded range of settings beyond traditional public teaching hospitals, in pursuit of becoming a fellow of a recognised specialist medical college.

The aims and objectives of this program are to:

• increase the number of registrars through the system participating in vocational training; and
• support quality training posts that provide an educational experience that reflects current health care delivery and builds the overall training capacity in the system, by extending specialist training into new healthcare settings.

A total of 750 posts are funded under the STP in 2013. The STP will support an additional 150 STP places through the 2014 application round, bringing the total to 900 posts that will be receiving funding under the STP.

Eligibility

Training posts which support either Australian specialist trainees or can support the upskilling of Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) are eligible to apply for funding under the STP. For posts to be eligible for STP funding they must:

• be accredited or undergoing accreditation by the relevant specialist medical college;
• be supported by the medical specialist college and local health network;
• have a recruitment strategy to ensure a trainee is available to commence training at the start of the 2014 academic year; and
• be a new position representing a genuine expansion of training (not previously filled).

Priority Settings for the 2014 Application Round

The priority settings for the 2014 STP application round are consistent with the 2013 STP application round and are outlined below.

• The Private health sector: For the purposes of STP, training sites which can be defined as eligible private sector settings are those which do not derive their operational funding directly from a state or territory government.
• Regional, rural and remote areas: settings located in Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) – Remoteness Areas (RA) 2-5.
• Non-hospital settings including Aged Care, Community Health and Aboriginal Medical Services: training posts which involve assisting population groups with acute health needs to receive appropriate services and effectively manage chronic disease to maintain good health. These may include, but are not limited to residential and community settings, as well as outreach arrangements.

Only posts which represent 1 FTE or a minimum of 0.5 FTE in the above settings will be prioritised for funding. Posts with 0.5FTE (if not part-time) must also be comprised of another 0.5FTE of demonstrated, comprehensive networked training arrangements. A comprehensive networked arrangement is a formal agreement between training settings for registrars to rotate for defined periods in which all trainee entitlements will be maintained.

Within these settings, accredited specialist training posts which provide opportunities for registrars to train in priority areas will receive a preference during the assessment process. These are:

• Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Ophthalmology
• Anatomical pathology
• Diagnostic radiology
• Radiation oncology
• Medical Oncology
• Geriatric medicine
• Psychiatry
• Generalist training – e.g. general and acute care medicine, general paediatrics, geriatric medicine, general surgery, general obstetrics and gynaecology, general pathology, general anaesthetics.
• Dual training in general medicine and an additional specialty

The above priorities are largely (but not exclusively) identified through Health Workforce Australia’s Health Workforce 2025 Volume 3 report and have been considered by the Medical Training Review Panel (MTRP).

Further Application Weightings

The Department and its assessment partners will give preference to posts which demonstrate:

• their capacity to be filled with Indigenous trainees (this will require written support from the relevant medical specialist college that the post will have an Indigenous health component and/or there is commitment to support an Indigenous trainee);
• trainee involvement with clinical academic research or teaching junior doctors and/or medical students;
• capacity for an individual trainee to complete the majority (>50%) of training requirements for fellowship in an on-going position in a rural/regional/remote setting i.e. potential to advance from 1st year/basic training to fully qualified. In order to meet training requirements this may include a rotation into a metropolitan setting. In order to support the main priorities for the round, applications which can demonstrate this potential must be in areas of workforce shortage to be given preference.

Notwithstanding the above, additional preferences may be granted for outer metropolitan settings where extraordinary circumstances warrant consideration.

Posts which can demonstrate attributes of quality training, a distinct educational imperative and integration with the public specialist training network will be highly regarded.