There are calls to clamp down on ‘pre-interviews’ for advanced physician training positions following claims they are being misused to cull applicants on discriminatory grounds.
The AMA Council of Doctors in Training (AMACDT) says it has received worrying reports from basic physician trainees about inappropriate personal questions being asked during ‘pre-interviews’. These are an informal face-to-face or phone conversation initiated by a trainee with a senior consultant who is on the selection panel or part of the recruitment process for a position on a specialist training program.
The questions of concern typically revolve around whether an applicant is married or planning to start a family. They are being asked “under the guise of getting to know [the applicant] or for workplace planning”, despite likely breaching workplace discrimination laws, according to Dr Tessa Kennedy, chair of the AMACDT.
After hearing initial reports from physician trainees in NSW, the Council surveyed its members and gathered many reports from male and female candidates who had applied for training places in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ advanced training program, as well general practice and obstetrics and gynaecology.
“Some are being prefaced by things like ‘I know I can’t ask you this but….’ under the guise of getting to know [the applicant] or workforce planning,” Dr Kennedy tells the limbic.
“The questions range from very explicit and clearly inappropriate like ‘are you planning to get pregnant?’ – the implication being you should not and if you are, you don’t get this job.
“Others were a little bit more canny, [for example] ‘is there any reason you won’t be able to complete this area of training?’”
With candidates facing fierce competition for training places, some are resorting to hiding their marital status for fear of being discriminated against, according to Dr Kennedy.
“The overt advice that people have been given going into these interviews was ‘take your wedding ring off, and if you’re asked an inappropriate question, say: ‘no I’m not planning to get pregnant’ rather than objecting to the question’.”
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, employers may need to ask a pregnant candidate for information about her pregnancy to determine whether she will be able to perform the requirements of the job and assess health and safety risks. However it’s possible for a candidate to bring a complaint of discrimination if they can show an employer relied on information – such as the candidate having children – to decide not to offer them a job.
Dr Kennedy says the informal setting of the pre-interview appears to facilitate an inappropriate line of questioning to elicit information which may even in some cases be used “to help cull applications.”