Evaluating the impact of the Assistant in Medicine (AiM) program on medical workforce efficiency and preparedness in NSW, Australia

Abstract

The Assistant in Medicine (AiM) program allows selected final-year medical students to take on more responsibility while also supporting the junior doctor workforce. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the AiM program on current medical staff, including junior doctors, registrars and consultants working in public teaching hospitals on NSW’s Central Coast. Furthermore, it aimed to investigate the effect of this AiM program on final-year medical students, their learning and the transition to internship. This cross-sectional study surveyed a select group of 75 medical officers and all 28 final-year medical students employed as AiMs on the Central Coast during July– September 2023. Of the medical officers surveyed, 53.3% felt that they were able to see more, or substantially more, patients on a shift where they had an AiM present and 71.8% felt that a shift with an AiM present was more or substantially more enjoyable than one without. Our results also show that the AiM program allowed doctors to focus on higher-level tasks and to find more enjoyment in their shifts, which may be beneficial in reducing the high rates of burnout seen in the current junior doctor cohort. The entire cohort of student respondents indicated that the AiM position helped them to feel more prepared for internship, with 95% feeling more integrated into the team, indicating enhanced clinical readiness. Furthermore, this study indicates that all the final-year medical students participating in the AiM program on the Central Coast found the program to be beneficial to their learning, increasing their exposure to clinical skills and better preparing them for internship. Limitations of this study include a low response rate from doctors working in the local health district and the limited ability to explore qualitative data within the current study design.