Preparing interns for practice in the 21st century.

Abstract

Internship in the 2 years between university and specialisation or general practice is intended to prepare medical graduates for the practicalities of lifelong professional practice. Changes in both society and new doctors' expectations mean that anachronistic teaching models need to give way to improved education during internship by doing the following: providing better education and rewards for intern trainers; piloting and evaluating new intern rotations, with support; promoting the value of teaching and training as a means of assuring quality and safety; using the new Australian Curriculum Framework for Junior Doctors to promote diverse learning pathways for interns while establishing an Australian baseplate for internship education; piloting and evaluating the effectiveness of intern education programs with minimal bureaucratic arrangements; advocating hospitals and health departments for improved intern training; and continuing efforts to ensure that the continuum of learning from undergraduate to postgraduate medical education strengthens so as to avoid unnecessary repetition.