Additional qualifications of trainees in specialist training programs in Australia

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Workforce Research
• Specialist Training

Background:

• Increasing medical graduate numbers in Australia exceed specialist training positions.
• Intensifying competition for specialist training necessitates additional qualifications.
• Anecdotal evidence suggests medical graduates pursue further credentials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the phenomenon of additional credentialing among Australian specialists in training.
• To quantify the number and types of postgraduate and research qualifications obtained by registrars.
• To identify differences in credentialing across medical specialties.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) survey (2008-2014).
• Assessed additional qualifications including PhDs, Master's degrees, postgraduate diplomas/certificates, and research degrees.
• Analyzed data for specialists in training across various Australian specialty schemes.

Main Results:

• Almost half (46.7%) of specialist registrars obtained further qualifications post-medical degree.
• Ophthalmology (78.6%) and Paediatrics (67.5%) registrars had higher rates of postgraduate qualifications.
• 2.4% held a PhD and 10.1% held a Master's degree, with higher prevalence in ophthalmology and surgical specialties.

Conclusions:

• This study is the first to examine additional qualifications among Australian specialists in training.
• A significant proportion (46.7%) of registrars pursue advanced degrees or research qualifications.
• Specialist trainees today are demonstrably more qualified than previous generations.