“Addressing the physician shortage requires a multipronged solution that starts with educating and training enough physicians to meet America’s needs and includes improving access to care, diversifying the physician workforce, and ensuring our nation is prepared to address current and future public health crises,” …

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1. Increase Interest in the Field.
2. Establish Centers of Excellence.
3. Integrate Environmental Medicine with Occupational Medicine Training and Research Programs.
4. Increase Funding for Faculty Development.
5. Support Residency and Fellowship Training.

All across Australia, rural communities have been facing ongoing GP workforce shortages, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing reliance on international medical graduates (IMGs).

Betty said a slow-burning GP shortage had been exacerbated by the Covid-19 border closures, the cost of managed isolation and quarantine and delays in processing and approving visa applications for overseas recruits. Typically, around 40 per cent of New Zealand’s GP workforce is trained overseas.

Fixing the physician shortage requires a multi-pronged approach which includes: increasing funding for residency programs, increasing the use of physician extenders to maximize a physician’s reach, and embracing new and innovative technologies to increase medical coverage, especially in rural and underserved areas.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recently reported that around 20% of Australia’s rural population were unable to see a GP due to none being close by, while almost 60% said they had no access to specialists in their region.

There is no shortage of doctors in Australia and never has been – the problem is one of mal-distribution. The numbers speak for themselves – 3.3 doctors per 1000 head of population in Australia compared to an average in the developed world of somewhere between 2-3 doctors per head of population.

The three visa types that are applicable to physicians are: Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa. Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Visa: This is for those who want to live in NZ permanently. After 2 years of work you can apply to live in NZ permanently.

The median (average) salary for a Doctor in New Zealand is NZ$152,900 per year (NZ$73.51 per hour), which is 177% higher than the national median (average) salary. Doctor salary range: NZ$71,304 to NZ$600,000 (excluding after-hours duties, allowances and other benefits in the remuneration package).

Michael Dill, the association’s director of workforce studies, cited several factors that contribute to the shortage, including a wave of retirements of older physicians and increased demand for physician care because of an aging population and COVID-19.

Australia and New Zealand compare unfavourably with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in respect to doctor numbers. The overall shortage of doctors in Australia and New Zealand is exaggerated by the disciplinary, cultural and demographic maldistribution of the doctors relative to need and utility.

Australia and New Zealand are the most reliant of the OECD countries on foreign doctors. An increase in spending on health promotion and disease prevention is essential.

Intensive care doctors have warned that Australia’s health system could face months of surge demand that will strain the workforce as a result of the Delta outbreak, as they stress the need for an increase in Covid vaccination rates to ease the burden on hospitals.

Corrine Taylor, Chair of the Association of Medical Recruiters Australia New Zealand, told newsGP that the existing District of Workforce Shortage (DWS) system is not effective in determining the real need for GPs.