The Specialist Training Program (STP) aims to improve the quality and distribution of the future medical specialist workforce by providing specialty trainees with exposure to a broader range of healthcare settings. The program provides government funding to extend vocational training for specialist trainees into settings outside traditional metropolitan teaching hospitals, including regional, rural, remote, and private facilities.
The Department of Health and Aged Care has commissioned Proximity Advisory Services to undertake an independent evaluation of the STP, to assess the implementation, appropriateness, and effectiveness of its component programs. The evaluation will be taking place between April and November 2024.
Proximity is seeking the input of current medical students, specialist trainees, fellows and supervisors of specialist trainees, to help us understand the attitudes and decision-making process of early career medical specialists in deciding their career path and the location for their practice. As a member of this broad group of medical practitioners, we are seeking your views. The survey (accessed via the link below) will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. It asks for some information about you and your personal history, and then presents questions asking for your views about the drivers underpinning medical practitioners’ choice of specialty and geographic location.
At the end of the survey, you are invited to provide your name and contact details if you would like to be interviewed as part of the project. Interviews of up to one hour with small groups of survey respondents will be taking place in early August 2024. These will use a semi-structured format to further explore the attitudes and decision-making processes of early career medical specialists.