Junior doctors are being lured to Australia by a job ad promising them a hefty pay cheque and 20 days off each month to “travel, swim and surf in the sun”.
A job advert from Blugibbon Medical Recruitment is targeting UK doctors with an accident and emergency experience. It promises a deal where doctors have to work 10 shifts a month and can “travel, swim and surf in the sun” for the other 20 days, with an annual salary of $240,000 Australian dollars (Rs 1.3 crore) and “accommodation provided”. It also promises a sign-in bonus of Rs 2.7 lakh.
The advert is available on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) careers website. The photo of the advert was shared on Twitter by author and former medical specialist Adam Kay.
Along with the picture, he wrote, “How depressing to see this in the BMJ. It’s hard to say those figures don’t present a compelling argument. It all leads to a big question for the govt: if you don’t address doctors’ very reasonable pay concerns, alongside their conditions and wellbeing, guess where they’re going?”
He added, “It goes without saying they didn’t ask about using most of my name.”
Check out the tweet here:
How depressing to see this in the BMJ. It’s hard to say those figures don’t present a compelling argument. It all leads to a big question for the govt: if you don’t address doctors’ very reasonable pay concerns, alongside their conditions and wellbeing, guess where they’re going? pic.twitter.com/24oKKrgfLa
— Adam Kay (@amateuradam) May 3, 2023
According to the Independent, the ad is in a reference to Adam Kay’s bestselling book detailing his gruelling experiences as a junior doctor in the NHS, This Is Going to Hurt, the advert in the BMJ states: “Got that Dr Adam K feeling? Come to Australia!”
In a more detailed advert posted on the BMJ website, for a role in Brisbane, the company writes: “A&E Registrar sick of the NHS? This isn’t going to hurt… Come to Australia for a working holiday to escape the grind. And why? Because we have tens of thousands of vacant nursing posts.”
The advert promises Rs 1 lakh per shift for a year, along with a completion bonus after 12 months – putting successful applicants in the “top 5 per cent of Australian earners”.