MEDICAL PATHWAYS
Getting started as an Indigenous medical student
The road to becoming a doctor
Getting started
There is plenty of assistance available if you wish to become an Indigenous medical student. The best place to start is the university itself.
You may be interested in a number of universities and making contact with the relevant people will help determine which universities you wish to apply to.
Once you’ve secured a spot in medical school, the road to becoming a doctor really begins.
The AIDA Student Representative Committee developed the AIDA Indigenous Medical Students Guide to Medical School, which is filled with great resources and tips on what you can expect from medical school and how to deal with different parts of the journey.
The ‘Becoming a doctor‘ section on the Australian Medical Association website also contains a lot of useful information.
AIDA can also provide information to Indigenous students interested in studying medicine. For more information or assistance, please submit an enquiry to membership@aida.org.au or call 1800 190 498.
Support centres
Student associations and networks
Student councils
Student societies
- Western Australia Medical Students Society (WAMSS)
- Adelaide Medical Students Society (AMSS) (South Australia)
- Flinders Medical Students Society (FMSS) (South Australia and Northern Territory)
- Tasmanian University Medical Students Society (TUMSS)
If you are still unsure, AIDA is here to help. Be sure to register as an AIDA member so that we can support you to the best of our ability.
Additional resources
The LIME Network Indigenous Pathways into Medicine Online Resource is designed to help future students determine which university will be the best fit for you as you study to become a doctor.
The Aspiration Initiative provides a list of scholarships and financial support options that you can apply for to help you through your studies as well as contact points for further advice.
The AIDA Indigenous Medical Students’ Guide to Medical School is a compilation of lessons learned, tips and tricks for Indigenous medical students, by Indigenous medical students. We believe that some issues that many of us have experienced are specific to being an Indigenous person in medical school, and are common across medical schools.
How can AIDA help you?
Student support: Our Indigenous Medical Student members can access a range of services, including funding support to attend annual conferences and dedicated staff support to provide guidance and advocacy during times of need.
Member networking events: Mentoring is an important part of developing your skills and supporting others through their journeys into medicine. AIDA offers member networking events to facilitate mentoring opportunities within our membership throughout the year.
After Graduation
Congratulations! Graduation from medical school is an enormous success. However, your journey into medicine has really just started. There is still a long, but also very rewarding path in front of you: from your time as intern, junior doctor and resident, to specialist training and fellowship.
Internship
Once you finish your medical degree, you need to undertake an internship. In order to become a fully registered Medical Practitioner with the Medical Board, you are required to successfully undertake and complete at least one year of supervised practice (commonly known as an internship). You spend your internship year in accredited training hospitals with the aim to prove that you are fit to practice medicine unsupervised. Most junior doctors continue to work in hospitals until they are ready to enter vocational training with any of the specialist colleges.
AIDA’s Indigenous Medical Students Guide to Internship provides a great resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in preparation for internship.
Residency
You are known as a resident once you have completed your internship and are employed in a hospital, but haven’t yet completed pre-vocational training. Most doctors spend around two or three years working in residency as what is known as either ‘Junior Doctor’, ‘Resident Medical Officer’ (RMOs) or ‘PGY 2, PGY 3 or PGY4’ (Postgraduate years 2, 3, and 4). During this time you learn more about being a doctor and decide where you would like to specialise. Some doctors choose to continue working in a hospital setting as Career Medical Officers (CMOs) for their entire career as they enjoy the diverse working environment.
Specialist Training
Specialist training allows you to work in either a specialty practice or a specific part of the health system, for example as a surgeon or a radiologist.
Specialist training allows you to work in either a specialty practice or a specific part of the health system, for example as a surgeon or a radiologist. Once you have been accepted for training by any of the specialist colleges, you are known as a trainee or registrar. Once you successfully complete your training, you are known as a specialist and become a Fellow of your specialist college.
Specialist training programs in Australia are governed by medical colleges and vary considerably in length and the type of hours you are likely to work. There is substantial competition to get a place in most training programs. The application and entry procedure is typically a combination of an interview, supervisor’s reports of previous training, any previous relevant work experience and relevant qualifications. Some medical colleges reserve and offer Indigenous specific training places.
The exception to the rule of specialty training is general practice. It is a recognised specialty, however by its nature it is very general in the type of work you do. Most doctors you visit, for example your family doctor, are general practitioners.
Specialist medical colleges
