In This Edition:
- From the Director
- Welcome to our RG Interns and RMOs
- Congratulations to Aaron Hawkins - RG with Advanced Skills in Mental Health
- 2023 Australian General Practice Training Intake Applications Open in March
- ACRRM Fellowship Career Day - Online Event
- Tasmanian Rural Health Conference 2022 – New Dates Announced
- RG Scholars – Where are they now?
- New Tasmanian Rural Generalist Facebook Group
- Congratulations to Elaine Marshall – Journal Article Publication
- Amendment – TRGP Newsletter October 2021 – From the Director
- Available Rural Generalist Posts
From the Director
The start of 2022 has been dominated by COVID for us all. The hard work everyone has put in to boost our vaccination rates seems to be paying off with low hospital rates and many of our patients only suffering mild disease. Everyone’s workload to support this has been huge, delivering care to our rural patients while dealing with COVID in our families, staff and ourselves.
Teaching has also been very different with our planned inductions for our new rural doctors flipped to online and all our skills teaching undertaken with N95 masks and goggles. Despite all these changes, we welcomed new interns and RMOs to their RG and rural training in January. We now have over 30 registrars training rurally MMM3-7 across all the pathways provided by RVTS, ACRRM and RACGP. It was lovely to see new and returning doctors; many had trained at the Rural Clinical School and are now returning to complete their RG posts and GP training.
We have settled on a date for the Tasmanian Rural Health Conference. The conference is to be held in Launceston at the Tamar Valley Resort in Grindelwald from Friday the 16th to Sunday the 18th of September 2022. We really hope that this will give time for the COVID restrictions to change and allow us to hold a face-to-face conference in order to catch up with old friends and new.
Recruitment for GP training in 2023 opens in March and we encourage everyone who is eligible to join the rural pathway to GP training. Details of the recruitment campaign are outlined in this newsletter.
Professor Lizzi Shires – Director, Tas Rural Pathways
Welcome to our RG Interns and RMOs
Our RG interns and RMOs started in January amidst the surge in COVID cases and hospitals on level 3 due to staffing shortages. Despite this difficult start, they have risen to the challenge and are enjoying their new posts. We were able to meet the new starters during their induction and spoke with them about the pathways and application processes. Over the next few newsletters, we will feature stories of our RG interns and their experiences training rurally and remotely. The RG interns and RMOs get the opportunity to spend a term in some of the most beautiful parts of our island and can practice extended skills under the supervision of rural GPs and RGs.
We have a vacancy for an RG RMO in the North-West from 11 April 2022 to 9 January 2023. This role provides a pathway for RMOs for rural generalist training and offers rotations in anaesthetics, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as a rotation in rural primary care.
For more information, or to submit your application, please visit the Tasmanian Government Careers website.
Congratulations to Aaron Hawkins - RG with Advanced Skills in Mental Health
Congratulations to Aaron Hawkins who will be completing his fellowship this month and has advanced skills in mental health. He is now working as a GP in Deloraine, covering general practice and the hospital. Aaron is also supporting new registrars in his role as medical educator for GPTT. Aaron took his advanced skills post on the North-West coast working in the community with the community mental health care team.
“My experience with the north west mental health team was incredibly valuable to take back to general practice,” says Aaron.
“I’m excited to be able to use that experience to provide much needed mental health support to the Deloraine and wider community.”
If you would like to hear more about Aaron’s RG journey, you can watch our short videos on the Tasmanian Rural Generalist Pathway website homepage.
If you are interested in doing your advanced skills in mental health, please contact us as tasrural.pathways@health.tas.gov.au.
2023 Australian General Practice Training Intake Applications Open in March
The 2023 AGPT intake applications open at 10am on Monday 21 March 2022 and close at 11:59pm on Tuesday 19 April 2022. Doctors can apply from intern year onwards. General Practice Training Tasmania (GPTT) will be running seminars in March to talk you through the stages of the application. A GPTT AGPT information session is scheduled for March 17 at 7pm.
Applications for the AGPT program should be made directly to the RACGP or ACRRM.
If you are unsure on which college to choose for your training, there are lots of people who can assist you in deciding. The colleges and GPTT all have online careers sessions, or you could talk to registrars on the pathway. If you don’t know any registrars, contact us at tasrural.pathways@health.tas.gov.au and we can put you in touch.
General Practice Registrars Australia have also put together a comparison of the costs and assessment processes to assist in your decision.
For more information on March 17 session and instructions on how to apply, visit the GPTT website.
ACRRM Fellowship Career Day - Online Event
The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine’s (ACRRM) Fellowship Career Day is happening online on Tuesday 8 March – Wednesday 9 March 2022.
Career Day brings together passionate doctors making an impact on their community, to share with you a glimpse into the exciting world of rural generalism. Career Day explores rural general practice and rural generalism, ACRRM Fellowship training options and more. Get inspired and hear from ACRRM registrars and Fellows about their journey to RG and training on an ACRRM pathway.
If you are interested in a career which broadens your knowledge, experience, and sense of adventure, the Fellowship of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) is for you.
Ready to explore the possibilities? Discover rural generalism and Fellowship training options with the only college solely dedicated to rural and remote practice. For more information or to register for this online event, visit ACRRM’s website. #RuralwithACRRM
Tasmanian Rural Health Conference 2022 - New Dates Announced
We are pleased to announce that the Tasmanian Rural Health Conference 2022 will be held at Tamar Valley Resort in the heart of the Tamar Valley from Friday the 16th to Sunday the 18th of September 2022.
The COVID uncertainty meant we have chosen to delay our conference until later in the year in the hope that we can have a face-to-face event after two years online. We will have an extensive rural education program on offer and are working with the Rural Doctors Association of Tasmania to ensure the program is relevant for our existing rural doctors and those in training. If you have any suggestions of training needs that you have missed over COVID, please don’t hesitate to contact us at tasrural.pathways@health.tas.gov.au.
Away from the conference program, Tamar Valley Resort has facilities including golf, tennis, swimming and plenty of family friendly activities. Situated close to boutique eateries and wineries and Launceston CBD, there is something for everyone.
RG Scholars - Where are they now?
Frankie Whitwell was awarded an RG scholarship in 2020. Frankie completed her medical training at the Rural Clinical School and stayed on as an intern and RMO at the North West Regional Hospital. Last year, she did an extended skills post in palliative care and created a teaching module fo our intern ready program that navigates the Tasmanian Health Service systems for new doctors. Frankie has also played a part in developing the pathway for junior doctors and features on our website.
Frankie joined the GP training scheme this year and has taken up a post at Patrick Street Clinic in Ulverstone. She is enjoying the challenge of the multifaceted presentations and is using her skills to provide care in the community for palliative patients. Frankie has nearly finished building her house in Devonport and is looking forward to completing her pathway on the North West coast.
ABC’s Kylie Baxter recently interviewed Frankie about her career moving forward into rural general practice at Patrick Street Clinic.
To listen to the interview, visit Youtube.
New Tasmanian Rural Generalist Facebook Group
To help foster rural careers in Tasmania, the Rural Doctors Association of Tasmania has created a Tasmanian Rural Generalist Facebook group for training advice and mentorship of rural generalist trainees and fellows. It is also a safe place to discuss emerging rural health issues in Tasmania. Please feel free to join and share amongst your network.
Congratulations to Elaine Marshall - Journal Article Publication
Congratulations to our Project and Policy Coordinator, Elaine Marshall, on her journal article publication in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity. Her paper, A collaborative approach to adopting/adapting guidelines. The Australian 24-hour movement guidelines for children (5-12 years) and young people (13-17 years): An integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep describes how the updated guidelines were developed and the outcomes from this process.
To read the paper, visit the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Amendment - TRGP Newsletter October 2021 - From the Director
Lastly, a special thank you to Dr Peter Arvier for his extensive work over the years in developing this role. We wish him all the best. We apologise for the discomfort the previous wording caused. To see Peter’s Director Farewell, please refer to the TRGP Newsletter July 2021.
Available Rural Generalist Posts
We have a vacancy for an RG RMO in the North-West from 11 April 2022 to 9 January 2023. This role provides a pathway for RMOs for rural generalist training and offers rotations in anaesthetics, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as a rotation in rural primary care.
For more information, or to submit your application, please visit the Tasmanian Government Careers website.
Registrar – General Practitioner Community Palliative Care in the North West
Clinical Lead – Emergency Medicine at Mersey Community Hospital
Director – Medical Education and Training in the North West
The Tasmanian Rural Generalist Pathway is supported by funding from the Australian Government under the National Rural Generalist Pathway Initiative.