Well, the fact that it has only been granted after a concerted and active campaign by medical students is very frustrating. There has never been any flexibility for those of us who have an interest in serving patients, but who may not yet be old enough to join the profession. Indeed, I feel that medical students have a worse understanding of the barriers to entry for general practice than doctors themselves do. While I am pleased to see that some of the provisions are about training new doctors, it is frustrating to see that so much of the provisions have been allowed to slip out of the bill.

 

There is one provision that I am happy to see in the bill that has not been in any other medical licensing system. It requires that any doctor who doesn’t meet the age of 30 before they can be considered for registration must only work in that specific area for at least two years. This is what we are advocating. We feel that for those that have a general interest in being a doctor, and want to work on a ward, they can still be a great asset to the medical profession. That would be the exception rather than the rule.