A Growing Demand for Psychiatrists in Australia

As it has been revealed in the news and the multiple surveys conducted by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, this is all a consequence of a multitude of factors such as burn-out (caused by increased pressure in the professional sphere which is caused by an overload of demands in the psychiatric field). Furthermore, 74% of mental health professionals have shown symptoms of burnout in the past three years alone. However, what is the benefit of knowing this distressing information for a healthcare professional who is planning to discover professional opportunities in Australia? To understand why healthcare professionals feel burned-out, we have to go through the details behind the reasons.

One of the main reasons that cause burnout within the psychiatrist community is the lack of qualified healthcare professionals who are able to handle the ever-increasing mental health demands of Australian citizens, especially first nation citizens. In addition, the economic turbulence that followed as a result of the pandemic has created a world in which people are increasingly on edge, anxious, depressed or in other states of mental deterioration. The RANZCP has concluded through surveys that 9 in 10 felt that the workforce shortage negatively impacts patient care, and over 3 in 10 have stated that they are planning to leave the profession within the next five years.

Overcoming Burn-Out, and Achieving Work-Life Balance

As mentioned above, the ever-increasing demand for mental health professionals, and the risk that private health institutions face, has created a massive void in terms of healthcare professionals. Consequently, the national healthcare system, along with private institutions such as private hospitals, is now actively on the lookout for healthcare professionals who can fill these positions and avert any risks of either being closed down or being overloaded with patients.

The attitude of burned-out professionals is one of the main causes that causes the patient care system to spiraling down into critical levels of dysfunctionality. However, this reveals that the ongoing chronic shortage of psychiatrists is also a moment of opportunity for healthcare professionals who excel in the field of mental health and psychology to join the Australian healthcare system and help serve patients suffering from mental illnesses. Moreover, it has been revealed that private health institutions provide more than 50% of the mental health admissions in the country but most of them have started to face the risk of being shut down due to the shortages in mental health professionals. This void, however, creates a massive opportunity for psychiatrists who are looking for employment and are looking to move overseas and find work in the Australian healthcare system.

Another important fact about ‘burn-out’ is that it can negatively affect the patients as well. If the doctors treating the patients are not at their maximum capacity to tend to the mental well-being of patients, then the patient is at risk of not being treated appropriately which leads to other complications. In the previous year, the Federal Government of Australia released a cohesive strategy to minimize the above negative impacts titled the ‘National Mental Health Workforce Strategy’ which framed the specific requirements that are needed to combat this issue.

Working Hours, Salaries, Benefits and Locations

The psychiatrists who work near to the locations that home the individuals in need of mental healthcare are already under so much pressure from being overloaded with work. This has led to a massive increase in the number of psychiatrists that are demanded by the Australian healthcare system. The highest number of psychiatrists are employed in Victoria, showing an employment rate of 29.9%. Meanwhile New South Wales is in second place with an average of 29%, closely behind Victoria. In addition, Victoria, has a large share of the employment, relative to its land-mass. Areas such as Townsville in North Queensland, and Northern-Brisbane are also well-known for offering employment opportunities that do not obstruct the well-defined work-life balance that doctors strive to maintain, while also offering salaries at the range of $3,387 (for median full-time workers), and upwards depending on one’s work schedule. Moreover, around 71% of psychiatrists choose to work full time hours which averages up to about 45 hours per week on their main job.

 Moreover, the RANZCP has called out to the government to create safeguards for any scenarios that might negatively affect the healthcare and patientcare system. Some of these proposed remedies include investing $7.06 million as a means of funding the Psychiatry Interest Forum program for an extended period of 6.5 years which will benefit the system by attracting the next generation of psychiatry trainees. Furthermore, another proposed amendment includes increasing the Specialist Trainee Program (STP) funding by $5.52 million over three years to create more opportunities of training additional placements in private hospital settings in 2025-2027. This creates more opportunities for prospecting psychiatrists who plan to study or move to Australia while also easing up the pressure that is currently beating down the Australian healthcare community. The allocation of benefits such as these has further created an environment which medical professionals can advance their careers, live life without work related stress while also engaging in further studies if they so desire. On a final note, the projected growth in job opportunities for psychiatrists as explained by the Job Safety Analysis (JSA) of Australia show that by 2026, the number of employment opportunities are expected to grow moderately and is likely to reach 5,900.

If you are a healthcare professional excelling in the field of psychiatry, then Medfuture is a beacon of trust that will guide you through the process of finding employment in the Australian healthcare system. By networking with Medfuture, you too can help combat the ongoing crisis by being a part of the healthcare system of Australia which will allow you to tend to the mental health needs of the people that are in need of it in times like these.