Alecto welcomes the latest article on the Australian Doctor discussing a petition which is calling for the removal of the PESCI interviews in order to allow GPs to start working instead of waiting for two years to complete one exam.
Overseas trained GPs are required to pass a PESCI interview exam before applying for limited registration under supervision if they want to work in General Practice.
Currently, it takes between 12-24 months to complete the PESCI interview process (not including 3 months of observation prior to this). Most of the waiting time is due to the fact that testing sessions are not available and doctors wait for up to 6 months for an appointment. Most doctors automatically are given a ‘failed’ grade on the first and second sitting, so a great deal of time passes before they can complete the process.
This process is in addition to:
- Completing the AMC CAT MCQ Exam
- Applying to AHPRA for registration along with supervision and training plans
- Getting a Health Workforce Certificate for their visa sponsorship
- Gaining a provider number in an MMM2+ and DPA location
It is widely accepted that GPs coming to Australia do require a high level of supervision for their first assignment and AHPRA but the PESCI interview process actively stops GPs from working in regional or rural areas.
Over the years we have observed how difficult these interviews are, with most GPs failing the first time – even those with specialist qualifications from substantially comparable countries such as the UK. The PESCI is also not a requirement for doctors working in hospitals even though the doctors undertaking an internship have the same entry requirements and less stringent supervision.
We know that all these GPs will be commencing under level 1 supervision, we have never seen a higher supervision level given from these interviews, so why do we need the PESCI? The only reason to keep the PESCI would be to keep GPs from entering the Australian workforce during the time we need them the most – including regional areas.
You can access the Australian Doctor article here
To find out more or to sign the petition, you can find this here