Moving from Hospital System to General Practice

Our team works with a lot of Doctors who are working in the hospital system, and choose to pursue their career in General Practice. If you are thinking of moving, there are a few things that are going to change! 

Here are a few of the top things to be aware of:

Type of Employment

The first thing that is going to change is the type of employment. In the hospital system you are an employee, earning a salary with leave benefits. Most General Practitioners are sole traders or contractors (or have a company) and therefore work for themselves! The biggest difference between being an employee and a contractor is the fact that as a contractor, you will be responsible for calculating and paying your own taxes.

Leave Benefits

Another thing to be aware of when transitioning from being an employee to a contractor is that most contracts will not include paid leave. This means that when you’re sick or want to take a holiday, this time isn’t paid for you and you’ll therefore need to save to cover these periods!

Indemnity Insurance

Hospital doctors have a different indemnity insurance to General Practitioners. As a result, when you move to a general practice setting, you will need to update your indemnity insurance. 

Different insurers have different policies around this move, so make sure you check with them before making any big changes! 

Be aware that indemnity insurance is a condition of registration—it’s one of the questions on your AHPRA application. Even whilst working in the hospital, you should have some Indemnity Insurance.

Support

A key change you will notice when moving into general practice is a shift in the dynamics of the workplace. In a hospital setting you are supported by other doctors, some more qualified than you and some less, as well as nurses and Specialists. However, when you move into general practice you are often on your own in decision making and reasoning, and whilst there are doctors in the practice who are able to support you at times, the bulk of your decisions will be made individually. Making sure you have a good mentor when transitioning is really important!

Salary/Income

One reason we find a lot of doctors transfer to general practice is for the lifestyle, ability to build relationships and the income potential. General Practitioners usually work business hours, and on average, earn between $250,000 and $400,000 a year. In some cases, we have seen rural doctors earn up to a million a year. 

We Can Help You With This Transition!

For recruitment and document assistance, you can reach out to us at help@peoplemedical.com.au.

On other specific areas, our amazing partners can assist you:

• Legal — Sarah Bartholomeusz
  • You Legal Pty Ltd 
  • Website: https://youlegal.com.au/
  • Email: Sarah@youlegal.com.au
  • Telephone : 1300 870 661
  • Mobile: +61 (0)412 077 795

• Accounting — Petra King
  • Xperion Accounting
  • Website: www.xperion.com.au 
  • Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/petra-king-ca/60min

• Insurance Grant Mason
  • Aweso Insurance
  • Email: grant.mason@awesoinsurance.com.au
  • Phone: 07 3048 8890
  • Mobile: +61 (0)401 900 709

• Migration Lawyer — Chioma Amaechi
  • CA Legal & Migration
  • Website: https://calegalmigration.com.au/
  • Email: law@calegalmigration.com.au
  • Telephone: 08 70787702

• Migration Agent — Camilla Saad
  • New Life Down Under
  • MARN : 1173200
  • Website: www.newlifedownunder.com.au
  • Email: camilla@newlifedownunder.com.au
  • Telephone: (08)64688766   
  • Mobile: 0434727007

• Relocation — Leona Lees
  • Website: www.claymorethistle.com.au
  • Email: leona.lees@claymorethistle.com.au
  • Phone: 07 3303 0393

• Mortgages — Brad Haynes
  • Website: www.mediprocapital.com.au
  • Email: info@mediprocapital.com.au
  • Phone: 1300 375 626

Have we missed anything? Plenty of things to be aware of! If you have any queries, or if you feel anything should be added—get in touch!

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Note: The information presented above has been updated as of 2023-10-24.

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We Can Help You

Here at People Medical Consulting, we have a passion for guiding medical practitioners through their career pathways to Australia. We have extensive experience in assisting medical facilities in recruiting doctors from local and overseas who will best suit their requirements.

We provide Document Assistance for those requiring support for their PESCI with IME, ACRRM or RACGP, registration and all other mandatory AHPRA requirements, fellowship program related forms and letters, application for Medicare provider and prescriber numbers, application for 19AB or 19AA exemptions and preparation of employment documents.

If you’re looking for assistance, contact us at help@peoplemedical.com.au and we would be glad to help you.