Welcome to your
internship
AMA NSW Internship Guide 2023
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Contents
Welcome & congratulations
3
Workplace advice and support
4
Doctors-in-Training Committee
7
Your key entitlements
Hospital Health Check
Member benefits & events Events and resources
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Welcome
and congratulations
Congratulations on graduating medical school, and welcome to the profession! You are about to embark on a career that’s equal parts challenging as it is rewarding. While this is the end of your formal medical education, it’s only the beginning of the training years ahead of you. You may be feeling excited, nervous, and overwhelmed, but rest assured you’ve chosen a profession that gives you the opportunity to make a profound difference in people’s lives. As Interns, the responsibility of being a doctor can sometimes seem daunting, but it’s important to remember that medicine is a team sport and you’re never alone. AMA (NSW) is certainly here to support you throughout your career in medicine, even in the most challenging of times. There is an added responsibility that comes with the two letters you can rightfully claim as the new prefix to your name. You’ll face mental, physical and psychological challenges, and there will be days that may not have immediate
AMA NSW Internship Guide 2023
rewards. During those tough days, I encourage you to reflect on your initial reasons for choosing this noble profession. Reconnect with your passion and renew your commitment to your goals, as this will be a guiding light throughout your career. As you progress through your training, remember that you have access to a wealth of resources and support. The AMA (NSW) offers significant assistance and resources for doctors-in-training(DITs), both individually and collectively. Our aim is to make your professional life a bit smoother and more manageable. By joining the AMA, you are also supporting the most powerful medico-political association in Australia. Your membership actively supports advocacy efforts that shape our healthcare system which benefits both the patients and the healthcare professionals.
Dr Michael Bonning President, AMA (NSW)
Your training years are challenging but finding the right motivation and support will help you stay on track.
Together, we can make a positive impact. Support us to support you!
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Workplace
advice and support
We truly appreciate your commitment to your role as a doctor and we want to assure you that AMA (NSW) Workplace Relations team is here to assist you in workplace related matters. The transition you are about to undergo from medical school to internship will be one of the biggest in your career. While you are focused on settling in and adapting to your new role, we want you to know that the AMA (NSW) is on your side. Our Workplace Relations Team is available to assist you with workplace matters and can guide you through tricky situations. We equip members with knowledge and resources and provide advice and assistance in relation to a number of areas. Your career in medicine will not be a sprint but a marathon. Your hours are going to be long and you will be challenged physically and emotionally. Being an AMA (NSW) member means you don't have to face difficult situations alone or find all the answers on your own. We let you focus on being the best doctor you can be, and we will be your workplace experts. Outsourcing what you can will be a time and stress saver.
WHAT WE DO
Our experienced advisors can provide advice and support in relation to terms and conditions of employment:
✓ rates of pay ✓ underpayment of overtime advice
✓ safe hours and rostering ✓ unfair dismissal ✓ performance management meetings
✓ bullying and harassment matters ✓ workplace investigations ✓ training disputes ✓ registration requirements ✓ medico-legal advice ✓ payment for mandatory training ✓ paid parental leave entitlements ✓ study leave entitlements ✓ annual leave entitlements
Please contact us if you need help Email: workplace@amansw.com.au Phone: 02 9439 8822 AMA NSW Internship Guide 2023
Dominique Egan
Director, Workplace Relations AMA (NSW)
I was having difficulty with my health service and a pay dispute. The health service were not providing me with answers or solutions. I contacted the AMA and within a few days it was handled and my money was in my bank account. The significance of the AMA cannot be overstated! The extra voice and knowledge they bring to the table is invaluable. I’m so grateful to be a member – anyone practicing medicine in Australia should be too. Melissa C, Resident.
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Your key
s t n e m e l t enti
There is a lot to learn as a new intern. To take some of the load off, we’ve prepared a summary of your key entitlements below. As an intern in New South Wales your Award is the Public Hospital Medical Officers (State) Award 2021.
Hours of work
Full time employees will be paid 38 hours per week but will be rostered to work 40. The 2 additional hours accrue for your Allocated Day Off (ADO). You may be rostered 40 hours in any period of 7 days or 80 hours in any period of 14 consecutive days.
+1
Allocated Days Off (ADO)
You will accrue one ADO per month. Your ADO should be rostered and taken monthly and you can’t take half ADOs. Any accrued ADOs will be paid out when you leave NSW Health or change to a different health district.
Rosters
Your roster should be released with a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice; however, in an emergency the employer can change the roster with less notice. Your maximum rostered shift length is 14 hours and there must be a period of at least 10 hours between rostered shifts.
Meal breaks
During day shifts on Monday to Friday you are entitled to a 30-minute unpaid meal break. During evening shifts, night shifts and weekend shifts 30-minute meal breaks are paid.
AMA NSW Internship Guide 2023
Overtime
You will be required to work reasonable overtime. The first two hours of overtime is paid at time and a half (1.5x), anything after that is paid at double time (2x). All overtime worked on Sunday is paid at double time. Any time worked in excess of 10 hours during one shift will be paid at overtime rates. Time worked in excess of 80 hours in a fortnight will also be paid at overtime rates.
Unrostered overtime
Prior approval to work unrostered overtime is not required under the following circumstances:
• Medical emergency • Transfer of a patient • Extended shift in theatre • Patient admission/discharge • Completion of outstanding patient transfer/discharge summaries
• Late ward rounds • Mandatory training • Clinical handover • Hospital-based outpatient clinics Check out our video on how to claim unrostered overtime online at www. amansw.com.au.
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s t n e m e l t i ent
Your key
Pay
You will be paid fortnightly into your nominated bank account and will receive a payslip each fortnight.
We recommend checking your payslip against your timesheet when you receive it to ensure that you have been paid correctly. If you think an error has been made, speak with your JMO manager in the first instance. If this does not resolve it, contact the AMA (NSW) for advice.
Annual leave
Full time employees will accrue four weeks of annual leave per calendar year.
You will accrue additional leave for working public holidays, or where a public holiday falls on a rostered day off.
Sick leave
Full time employees are entitled to 76 hours paid sick leave per year which will accumulate.
You become eligible for a full year’s entitlement of paid sick leave on the first day of the fourth month of employment. You are not entitled to paid sick leave before this time but are able to access unpaid sick leave.**
Study leave
You are not entitled to study leave as an intern. From the following year you can apply for up to 7 days study leave. Currently each health district has its own approvals process, so you should check with your JMO Unit in the first instance.
Parental leave
Full time and part time employees are entitled to paid maternity, adoption or parental leave after 40 weeks of continuous service. Eligible employees are entitled to 14 weeks paid maternity or adoption leave. This leave can be taken at full or half pay.
If you are entitled to paid maternity leave, you are entitled to a further period of unpaid maternity leave of not more than 12 months after the actual date of birth. If you are not entitled to paid maternity leave, you are entitled to unpaid maternity leave of not more than 12 months.
Periods of sick leave of more than 2 days will generally require a medical certificate.
You must notify appropriate staff of your absence as soon as possible.
** Due to COVID-19 health agencies have been encouraged to allow access to paid sick leave from commencement for eligible employees.
For further information about these entitlements, check out our range of ‘What you need to know’ resources, available to download by members on our website amansw.com.au. AMA NSW Internship Guide 2023
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g n i n i a r T n i s Doctor Committee
The AMA (NSW) Doctors-in-Training Committee advocates for better working conditions for you and your colleagues. We’re not going to waste your time with platitudes about being a junior doctor. You’ve likely heard about the long hours, stress and tough conditions, and you might have seen colleagues struggle or experienced it yourself. In this field, actions speak louder than words. You may encounter countless organisations or people who express their “passion” or “concern” for your well-being, but they often lead to no real change. This is where AMA (NSW)’s Doctorsin-Training Committee comes in. There is no group more passionate about junior doctors – because we are junior doctors. And when it comes to action we deliver.
The DITC continues to advocate for improved working conditions for doctors-in-training. This year in response to the Hospital Health Check results for improved hospital facilities and provision of healthier food options and cleaner common rooms, we launched the #Move2Improve campaign. The campaign boosted hospital morale and spread a positive message about doctor’s health and wellbeing as well as rewarding the winners, Gosford Hospital, with a common room makeover.
Dr Sanjay Hettige & Dr Jacqueline Ho Co-chairs, AMA (NSW)
Doctors-in-Training Committee
TWO THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BE INVOLVED NOW
1 Put the number below in your phone
2 Sign up to AMA (NSW)
There will be times when you’re worried about a colleague. This 24/7 line can get you or your colleague to the right support quickly. The service is totally independent of employers and Colleges, and accessible to any doctor.
and tell us what your priorities are. You can always send through an email and tell us what AMA (NSW) can do better. Better yet, come to our regular meetings and get involved – your contributions make our advocacy stronger.
Doctors’ Health Advisory Service NSW 02 9437 6552
For more info on how to get involved with the DITC, contact DITC@amansw.com.au
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AMA (NSW) Hospital
k c e h c h healt
Thank you to everyone who took part in AMA (NSW)’s seventh Hospital Health Check (HHC). The HHC is an opportunity for the state’s doctorsin-training to express how they’re feeling about their current working conditions. This year’s Hospital Health check was launched on May 19th and closed on June 30. There were around 1400 participants, 30% of whom were interns, and 57% of whom were female. The hospital with the greatest number of responses was Westmead Hospital, closely followed by Royal North Shore Hospital and Wollongong Hospital. On the whole, results are encouraging. It shows increased levels of overall satisfaction, decreased levels of fatigue concerns over personal health and safety, a jump in the number of respondents claiming and being
paid for all unrostered overtime and an increase in allocated days off taken on request. However, there is still much to be done. The number of respondents who reported that excessive work hours had led them to make a fatigue induced clinical errors remains high, at 46%. The reporting of intimidation increased from 17% to 30%. Sick days are something doctors-in-training remain reluctant or unable to take when necessary.
1400 participants
While technical difficulties have prevented us from yielding as much data as has been gained in previous years there is plenty of useful information from this year’s survey.
30%
were interns
Read more about health check report here.
AMA NSW Internship Guide 2023
57%
were female
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AMA (NSW) Hospital
Overall satisfaction
health-check
Last year 46% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they felt valued by their hospital, this year that number jumped to 55%. The jump was even higher for respondents who agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend their hospital, up 11% from 54% in 2022 to 65% in 2023.
Fatigue
In 2023, the negative impacts of excessive hours decreased significantly from 2022. 48% of respondents in 2023 recorded that excessive working hours had made them feel concerned about their personal health and safety. This is an 8% decrease from the 2022 data of 56%. There was a slight drop in the number of respondents who reported that excessive work hours had led them to make a fatigue induced clinical error from 46% in 2022 to 45% in 2023. This number is still concerning as it is considerably higher than the figure for 2021 which was 38%
The number of respondents whose roster sometimes matches expectations was very similar in 2022 and 2023. The respondents whose roster always matches expectations increased by 3% from 23% to 26% and those whose roster never matches expectations decreased from 35% to 31%.
Rostering & Overtime
Respondents not working any overtime increased from 23.2% to 25.5% and those working 1-5hrs and 6-10hrs decreased. However, respondents working 11-15hrs of rostered overtime increased by 3.1%. The hours of unrostered overtime worked per fortnight largely stayed the same from 2022 to 2023. However, respondents working 1-5hrs of unrostered overtime per fortnight increased 3.9% from 2022 to 27.1% in 2023.
AMA NSW Internship Guide 2023
UROT claimed and Paid
The 2023 survey found an encouraging 12% increase in respondents claiming all of their unrostered overtime and being paid for unrostered overtime. In 2023, about 45% of respondents claimed all of their unrostered overtime compared to only 33% in 2022. Of the respondents who claimed any amount of unrostered overtime, 78.9% were paid for the complete amount that was claimed which is 6% more than 2022. The main reasons for not claiming overtime persisted from last year with the preponderance of respondents identifying ‘against the culture’, ‘not pre-approved’ or ‘negatively reflect on me’ as the cause. However, overall, the number of respondents experiencing these issues decreased by around 29%.
Leave satisfaction
Unacceptable behaviour
In total, 72% of respondents in 2023 reported that their hospital provided training to staff about acceptable workplace behaviours compared to 64% in 2022. Similarly, in 2023, 5% more respondents agreed that their hospitals address unacceptable behaviours taking the total to 65%. In 2023, occurrences of bullying, discrimination, intimidation and witnessing decreased. However, there was little change in the reporting of unacceptable behaviours with the reporting of intimidation being the only increase from 17% to 30%.
Overall, 8% more respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied that their leave preferences were taken into account, increasing from 61% to 69% in 2023. Among those who had difficulty taking leave, the main problems encountered were that respondents’ preferred periods were unavailable or approvals were delayed. Of all the issues experienced, all were reportedly experienced at lower rates than 2022.
Sick leave
Allocated days off taken
Hospital Facilities
Allocated days off (ADO) that were taken on request in negotiation increased from 37.5% to 45.3% in 2023. The survey reported that respondents who had not taken any ADOs decreased from 13.8% in 2022 to 8.6%.
In 2023, as in 2022 the majority of respondents rarely took sick leave when needed. Those who sometimes take sick leave increased slightly from 25.1% in 2022 to 28.7% in 2023. However, those who either usually or always take sick leave when needed has decreased. The reasons for not taking sick leave have remained the same from 2022 to 2023. It is mostly due to the concern of other workloads and because there is no cover available.
Like in 2022, respondents in 2023 continued to be satisfied or very satisfied with on-call car parking, access to libraries and computer access. The facilities garnering limited satisfaction are pager-free meal breaks, access to quality food and places to sleep.
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Member
benefit s
AMA (NSW) members can access and take advantage of a whole host of benefits provided by our corporate partners. These benefits can be accessed through the newly launched members portal. The new members portal has a whole new host of features being rolled out to improve the member experience and communication. Some of our Corporate Partners:
Numerous discounts and offers provided by our corporate partners, such as:
Electrical appliances and gadgets • discounts from Dell or Samsung
Complimentary financial • consulting
Books discount from Booktopia • Special joining fees from your • favourite airline clubs
Car discounts from BMW, Audi, • Jeep and many more
Eat healthy, feel healthy with •
special rates from HelloFresh and My Muscle Chef
Visit your members portal for a full list of membership benefits at ama.com.au/new-dashboard/benefits
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s Event
and resources
AMA (NSW) offers a full programme of face-to-face and online events throughout the year to connect you with colleagues and peers across the industry.
Face-to-face and online events include: • Hospital Lunches • DIT newsletters • DIT Q&As • Educational seminars and workshops
• Information sessions on issues affecting the health system
• Member meet member events • Conferences such as Joining or Working in Private Practice
To know more about AMA events, visit us at ama.com.au/new-dashboard/events
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Proud to be a Doctor-in-Training...
A M A f o t r a p e b o t Proud
AMA has consistently provided a means to give a voice to doctors-in-training like me. It has resulted in positive change for the wellbeing of DITs.
Dr. Devin Deo
AMA(NSW) DIT Committee
Grow the community & be rewarded!
Every time you refer a new member, you strengthen the community you belong to. The stronger we are, the greater support we can provide all members. Refer a friend or colleague and receive up to $200 for each new referral!
! u o y t r o p p u S to s u Support Scan QR code to refer your friends
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