The placement process for medical interns has been improved to give Tasmanian graduates the best possible opportunity to stay in the state and work at the hospital of their choice.
Following concerns raised about the placement process in recent weeks I asked the THS to review the policy.
Under the revised system, interns may receive an offer to work at a hospital they had indicated a higher preference for if a vacancy arises, even after they have already accepted an offer.
This change means graduates will have the maximum opportunity for a placement at their highest preference Tasmanian hospital, whichever of our hospitals that is.
These changes have been developed in consultation with AMA Tasmania and are designed to give interns the maximum opportunity and encouragement to work in Tasmania.
The creation of a single Tasmanian Health Service gives us the opportunity for the first time to develop a statewide process which gets rid of the ridiculous situation of previous years where graduates were deemed satisfactory in one hospital but not another.
Interns who have already accepted a position at their third preference site, and receive and accept an offer at their second preference location, will remain in consideration for their first preference should sufficient vacancies arise.
There was some concern that graduates would be more likely to accept interstate offers if they were locked into their second or third preference Tasmanian hospital even though vacancies had arisen at their first preference location.
Interns involved in the current round of offers are being advised of the changed process. However, it’s important to note that given the many factors that govern intern placements, including the numbers of withdrawals, individual preferences and intern rankings, there can be no guarantees as to reassignment or assumptions that a subsequent offer will be made.
The new process will continue until September, at which point vacancies will be filled on a case-by-case basis to ensure all places are filled.
Giving Tasmanian medical graduates the best chance to work in our state will help us strengthen our health system and deliver on our COAG agreement to offer placements to every local domestic medical graduate.
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health
