AMSA 2023 Internship Guide

Your membership of the AMA provides unparalleled access to advocacy and
support on the big issues impacting our profession overall, as well as the local ones
affecting your practice. Your membership supports the vital role the AMA plays in
health policy development and promotion, both at the Tasmanian as well as
Federal level.
The AMA helps shape the environment in which we practice, be it private or public
sector, general practice, or hospital practice. In all these areas, your AMA supports
doctors so they can care most effectively for patients and their communities.
The AMA represents the voice of doctors in Tasmania across every level. All the
while continuing to lobby many other issues including e-prescriptions, PIP, age of
criminal responsibility, co-billing, parental leave, SEM, pharmacy scope, tobacco
control, climate change, anti-protesting laws, bed block, access block, emergency
departments, liquor licensing laws, palliative care, VAD, vaccination access, and
continued fighting for improvements to awards and conditions for doctors through
our enterprise bargaining processes.
AMA Tasmania’s strong advocacy has provided junior doctors with a voice,
improved working conditions specifically more recently payment for all overtime
hours worked, protected breaks, and safer hours.
As a member, AMA Tasmania can also help you to understand your rights as a
doctor-in-training, and I encourage you to take time to read the Working as a
Doctor in the Tasmania Public Health Service Handbook we have prepared for you
as well as how to add your voice to advocate for policy improvements - (handbooks
can be emailed or collected from AMA House in Hobart).
AMA Tasmania continues to work hard to improve workplace culture to discourage
bullying and harassment in public hospitals. Of course, we encourage all members
to pursue respectful behaviour toward others, and to be well informed on health
policy issues while allowing you to share your perspective with the wider medical
community away from your health service.
Our AMA Tasmania office team may be small but headed by past Premier Lara
Giddings we punch well above our weight with a direct line to the Premier and
while I know you will have a lot on your plates this year I encourage you at the very
least to attend one or two (or all of) our division meetings – held once a month
online on various nights across the state they are an excellent way to voice a
general concern you may have that may be elevated to State Council or to simply
engage and meet colleagues.