Letters A M S J From the Prime Minister

The Honourable MP to primary health care through Medicare, Prime Minister of and free public hospital treatment for public patients. We want to improve public hospital ongratulations on the inaugural issue of and primary health care services, since these the Australian Medical Student Journal C services underpin Australia’s entire health As Australian medical students, you are system. the future medical workforce studying to shape the health and well-being of the next Most importantly, the Reform Plan will generation of Australians. harness and build on the skills, experience and ingenuity of those, such as yourselves, This is an exciting time to join the medical who work on the front line of our health and profession, in the midst of the biggest hospital system. reform to the health and hospital system since the introduction of Medicare. Recently, Yours is the work of saving lives – restoring, I announced the Government’s National curing and protecting the young; the old; Health Reform Plan. The Plan is based on rich and poor alike – through life-changing a vision that future generations will enjoy treatments, discoveries and breakthroughs. world class, universally accessible health care It is work that I appreciate. Work that all — the quality of care that has helped deliver Australians appreciate. Australians the third longest life expectancy in Australia needs students such as yourselves each of you all the very best for your future the world. to achieve the breakthroughs in medical endeavours, and I commend you for choosing The Reform Plan will build on the strengths science that prevent disease, cure illnesses a profession which is so important to the of our current health system, such as access and deliver a better quality of life. I wish future of our nation. From the Minister for Health and Ageing

The Honourable Nicola Roxon MP that will work across the health and education Minister for Health and Ageing sectors to deliver the right number of high quality health graduates. HWA will support he knows that Australia workforce reform initiatives: of particular needs an effective, streamlined and T interest to medical students will be its integrated health workforce if it is to meet the role in funding, planning and coordinating challenges our health system faces in coming undergraduate clinical training across all years - including the ageing of our population health disciplines and in a variety of settings and an uneven distribution of health services. and locations. It will also provide support for We recognise that increasing numbers of an international recruitment program and medical students and junior doctors are capital infrastructure, including for simulated coming through the system and we need learning environments, innovative clinical to ensure that students are provided with teaching and training initiatives and rural quality clinical education and training. clinical school programs. Since our election two years ago, the Rudd We are facing a time of great change for Government has made significant progress to our health system. I recently joined the achieve these goals. Prime Minister to announce a vision for the Accordingly, we led the major health future that will be the most significant health workforce reforms agreed to by the Council reform since the introduction of Medicare. practice program training places over the of Australian Governments in November 2008 Simply put, this will mean a national hospital next ten years. These major investments will and formalised in the National Partnership network, funded nationally and run locally. meet projected shortfalls, and help reduce Agreement on Hospital and Health Workforce The second plank in this reform is that we pressure on hospitals by improving access and Reform. This $1.6 billion package, of which intend to produce a health workforce that availability of GP and specialist services. the Australian Government will contribute complements and supports this vision – and When you have completed your training, $1.1 billion, is the largest investment in the you, as medical students, are a vital part of we want you to be proud to be joining the health workforce ever made in Australia. that endeavour. Australian health workforce. So we intend This landmark investment includes $1 billion On March 15, the Prime Minister and I to build for you, and all Australians, a health for the clinical training of undergraduate announced that the Rudd Government system that is not only able to cope with the students. Importantly, an agreement was also will invest another $632 million to train a challenges ahead, but do so while offering struck with the states and territories agreeing record number of doctors - to tackle doctor even better quality, even better access, and to provide intern places for students with shortages, expand capacity and deliver better even greater choice. Commonwealth-supported places. health and better hospitals. This investment Congratulations on the first edition of the Another key measure in the package is the will deliver an additional 5,500 new or Australian Medical Student Journal and best establishment of Health Workforce Australia training General Practitioners, 680 medical of luck to all readers with their studies. (HWA), an independent, truly national body specialists, and 5,400 pre-vocational general

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