Specialist training

You are known as a specialist if you have completed your training to practise a particular branch of medicine, and you are known as a registrar if you are a doctor training to become a specialist. Specialist training allows you to work in either a specialty practice or a specific part of the health system.

Specialist training programs in Australia are governed by medical colleges and vary considerably in length and the type of hours you are likely to work. There is a lot of competition to get a place in most training programs. The application and entry procedure is typically a combination of an interview, supervisor’s reports of previous training, any previous relevant work experience and relevant qualifications. Some medical colleges reserve and offer Indigenous specific training places.

For example, if you want to work with children you might choose to do paediatrics and work in a children’s hospital or a paediatric clinic. Maybe you want to help people who are in accidents, or require a transplant and choose to be a surgeon. Perhaps you are more interested in what makes people in your community sick and choose a research specialty such as public health. The exception to the rule of specialty training is general practice. It is a recognised specialty, however by its nature it is very general in the type of work you do. Most doctors you visit, for example your family doctor, are general practitioners.

Specialist medical colleges