The Intensive Care Workforce Summit

In the past 5 years, there has been a significant rise in the number of trained and fully qualified specialists in intensive care medicine. Recent concerns about saturation of specialist employment opportunities and the prospect of new Fellows unable to find appropriate employment after completion of training has brought intensive care workforce issues to the forefront. The board members of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) and Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) held the Intensive Care Workforce Summit with presidents of other medical colleges, government officials and legal experts. Current data were presented on College trainee numbers and graduates and compared with similar data from other colleges. Results of workforce surveys of intensive care units and recent CICM graduates were also presented. Projections of future workforce requirements are notoriously uncertain but there was clear agreement among the group that currently, the employment opportunities for new Fellows at consultant level are limited. Recent changes to. the selection process for new trainees have had a dramatic impact on the number of new trainees in 2014 but the enduring effect of this is yet to be determined. The group discussed potential growth areas for employment of intensive care consultants, including changes in employment patterns and also the impact of reduced numbers of trainees on unit staffing. CICM and ANZICS have agreed to continue to monitor and discuss the situation on a regular basis.