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Table 2 Location of main place of work when did the MABEL survey (2008–2013) for locally trained and overseas-trained doctors (OTDs) by the period they entered Australian medical workforce

From: Reviewing reliance on overseas-trained doctors in rural Australia and planning for self-sufficiency: applying 10 years' MABEL evidence

  

General practitioners

Other medical specialists

Period entered medical workforce

Category

Metropolitan (%)

Large regional or rural (> 15 000 population) (%)

Small rural and remote (< 15 000 population) (%)

Metropolitan

Large regional (> 50 000 population) (%)

Small regional or remote (< 50 000 population) (%)

1970s

Locally trained

84.2

87.6

83.6

86.8

82.7

88.6

OTD

15.8

12.4

16.4

13.2

17.3

11.4

1980s

Locally trained

84.3

81.4

82.1

86.2

82.6

79.7

OTD

15.7

18.6

17.9

13.8

17.4

20.3

1990–1994

Locally trained

72.3

60.9

68.1

80.7

71.2

68.5

OTD

27.7

39.1

31.9

19.3

28.8

31.5

1995–1999

Locally trained

79.4

63.1

52.9

73.6

67.3

62.6

OTD

20.6

36.9

47.1

26.4

32.7

37.4

2000–2004

Locally trained

72.3

50.6

52.0

74.7

51.2

44.0

OTD

27.7

49.4

48.0

25.3

48.8

56.0

2005–2009

Locally trained

54.4

41.0

33.3

66.5

40.1

34.1

OTD

45.6

59.

66.7

33.5

59.9

65.9

  1. “Period entered medical workforce” is based on a question in the MABEL survey “in what year did you complete your basic medical degree”. From this, the first year the doctor (general practitioners, other medical specialists, or registrars undertaking formal training for general practice or other specialties) entered the Australian medical workforce was calculated. For OTDs, this is the year that OTDs first registered and commenced work in Australia. OTDs are identified as having completed their basic medical degree in a country other than Australia. Data are unweighted to avoid sample bias related to different age and sex distribution of OTDs relative to locally trained doctors. The methods applied to this analysis have been published elsewhere [27]. “Location of main place of work” was identified by a question “where is your main place of work – town and postcode?”, geocoded and categorised large regional or rural, small rural or metropolitan based on the Modified Monash Model [64]. Each doctors responded to between one and six MABEL surveys, thus contributing up to six aggregate person-years of work location data 2008–2013. The different geographic categorisation applied to specialists reflects they have larger population catchment and practice infrastructure requirements [29]