Is Australia losing its allure to overseas GPs?
There's been a rapid fall in the number of specialist overseas doctors coming through the RACGP's Practice Experience Program
Alarms are being raised over a rapid decline in the number of IMGs coming into Australia with overseas GP qualifications.
Last year, there were 52 applications for the RACGP’s Practice Experience Program (PEP) Specialist Stream, which is open to doctors with GP training from a country overseas.
In contrast, the college received 192 applications for overseas specialist recognition in 2019 and 353 applications the year before that.
The college said the fall was largely a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the closure of international borders.
