The New South Wales Medical Students’ Council (NSWMSC) shares concerns from the Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) regarding the establishment of Curtin Medical School in Western Australia.


NSWMSC Chair, Neel Gobin, stated, “The NSWMSC has been consistently campaigning for improving training for medical students and junior doctors for many years. The addition of any new medical school without greater investment in postgraduate training will further pressure an already strained system in its ability to appropriately skill the future medical workforce.”

Mr Gobin agreed with AMSA President Mr James Lawler that merely increasing the number of medical students does not translate to increasing the number of fully qualified doctors. Mr Gobin highlighted this to be of particular concern for New South Wales medical students. 

“NSW has the most medical students of all states in Australia and will produce approximately 1,000 graduates in 2015. Based on the current number of training positions in WA, students from the proposed Curtin University Medical School will eventually have to seek an internship position interstate - joining the backlog in the NSW health system. This will lead to more NSW-trained graduates left without a job or with even fewer opportunities for necessary postgraduate training.”

Mr Gobin also emphasised the importance of AMSA’s concerns towards the impact of a new medical school on public health.

“If junior doctors are not provided with timely and adequate training, patients may not receive the highest possible care, and overall public health may be threatened.”


Media Contact: 
Christopher Lemon
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