Overseas‐trained doctors in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services: many unanswered questions

Abstract

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services are heavily dependent on overseas‐trained doctors (OTDs). These OTDs are increasingly from countries with variable English language and educational equivalency compared with locally trained doctors. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services create particular demands for all doctors, such as negotiating “cultural domains” and acknowledging the contribution of Aboriginal health workers. Little is known about the roles and experience of OTDs in health service provision in Indigenous communities. Barriers to effective research into the experience of OTDs include privacy legislation and a lack of standardised data. Researching the narratives of OTDs in Indigenous health services offers an opportunity to explore the diversity and complexity of the cultural interfaces in health service provision.

Representations and coverage of non-English-speaking immigrants and multicultural issues in three major Australian health care publications

“…Birrell et al [83] discussed the lack of national standards and variable standards and knowledge of overseas trained doctors (OTDs); Arkles et al [84] outlined similar issues associated with healthcare provided by OTDs in remote Aboriginal populations; McGrath [85] discussed the importance of integrating OTDs into the medical workforce. The latter three articles are considered to be based on multicultural health issues.…”

Management of children with otitis media: A survey of Australian Aboriginal Medical Service practitioners

“…We did not aim to formally investigate the demographics of the Australian AMS medical workforce, 22 however, our sample was less experienced and more likely to be overseas trained than general practitioners nationwide 4,23 . Other reports indicate a higher proportion of overseas‐trained doctors in rural and remote areas (currently 37% vs. 25% a decade ago) 24 .…”

Ontology Supported Assistive Communications in Healthcare

“…Rural and remote areas suffer a high turnover of health staff, including Aboriginal health workers and overseas-trained doctors (OTDs) who have been essential to filling positions to provide primary care in these regional locations. These doctors receive little training to assist assimilation into Australia's working cultures and minimal support of an acculturative nature in order to treat and care for Aboriginal people [Arkles, Hill, and Pulver, 2007;Dahm, 2011;Gilles, Wakerman, and Durey, 2008;Sheikh-Mohammed, Macintyre, Wood, Leask, and Isaacs, 2006].…”