Ophthalmology and medical education in Australia

Australian medicine and ophthalmology both began as extensions of British traditions. With growing financial and national independence, they have acquired indigenous strength and characteristics. An original triumvirate of medical schools launched a century ago have been augmented by seven additional schools, particularly since World War II. Both general medical and specialty education are now well obtainable in Australia. The quality of ophthalmology is high and research has been moving upward since World War II. New buildings are replacing old. The organization of registrars (residents) is blending with that of union-type workers and reflects widespread though locally autonomous unions in almost every field of endeavor. Canberra and the National University are recent major additions to cultural and scientific affairs of Australia. The Royal Flying Doctors Service has since 1928 cast an increasingly effective "mantle of safety" over the outback. Reductions in federal funds and student numbers have paralleled similar occurrences in the U.S. in the 1980s. Geriatric ophthalmology has made a major step forward and the organization of examinations and policing of medicine have been greatly strengthened in the past decade.