Paying medical students to work as clinical assistants could fix specialist shortages, experts say
The clinical assistants model rolled out in Victoria during COVID-19 would work in general practice, academics say.
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Paying final year medical students to work as clinical assistants — a model successfully trialled during COVID-19 — could be the key to easing workforce shortage across multiple specialties, including primary care, experts say.
Academics made the call after assessing a ‘pre-internship’ model introduced by Western Health in Melbourne during the pandemic.