College Surplus
The Mysterious Fate of the College Surplus
Saturday, 05 May 2007
Responder Rant
by Dr Bianca Felix
In the 2006 RANZCP Annual Report, the figures show that the College is sitting on assets worth $13 million. Apparently, this is a vastly improved financial position compared to just a few years ago, and reflects the skilled handling of the College’s finances by recent executive members. Kudos. No, really. It is an achievement.
Of that $13million, much is tied up in real estate. Other money is tied up elsewhere. There is “only” about $1-2million is available cash/assets. So one obvious question becomes what should that money be used for?
Another obvious question that trainees should be asking is – when the College is clearly making a profit – why are trainee fees increasing? And increasing at a fairly exponential rate?
Let’s look at basic membership fees. In 2007, the membership fee for a fulltime trainee is $800. The average annual basic registrar salary (at least in Victoria) is $75 000. So membership fees are 1.06% of the salary. For a part-time trainee, the membership fee is $600. For a 0.5FTE trainee on an average salary of $37 500 that means membership fees are 1.6% of your salary. So you are paying proportionally more, for less training…
Of course, fees for FEC’s, case history submissions and exams add considerable extra financial burden.
In contrast, the basic membership fee for a Fellow is approx. $1100. Assuming an average salary of $120 000 (likely an underestimate) that represents 0.92% of one’s salary.
(If anyone feels my figures are suspect, I am happy to hear from you.)
Where is the equity here??? The doctors earning the least amount are required to pay the highest proportionate fees!
The fees associated with training hurdles are similarly suspect. Don’t get me started on the minimum $4000 (up to $8000) per year that Victorian trainees have to pay for their FEC. Case histories has a fee of about $600 but, I believe, the markers are paid for their time. The written exams cost $1100 – I am not sure if markers are paid for their time but the turnaround time is far slower than other Colleges. As for the Clinical exams, the fee exceeds $2000 yet the examiners are NOT paid for their time. So where does the money go???
To add insult to injury a perusal of the 2006 Annual Report shows and operating revenue for “training and exam fees” of $2,172,487 (an increase of $577,974 from 2005). There is no corresponding operating expenditure.
Don’t get me wrong – I am well aware that many Fellows who are involved in training do so out of a deep sense that passing on knowledge and experience to the next generation is a core part of being a doctor. We should all be deeply grateful to these – largely unsung – individuals. Their contribution should probably merit some financial award. Perhaps that is where some of the $1-2million should go?
I challenge the College executive to be transparent and provide trainees with a breakdown of fees and how they are used. How are membership fees calculated? Case history fees? Written exam fees? Clinical exam fees? (Have I missed any?)
If I hear anything from them, I shall be sure to let you know...