From 2018. Interns will have the opportunity to undertake a term in rural general practice. These terms will be rotations to:
- either Queenstown or King Island from the North West Regional Hospital
- either Flinders Island or St Helens from the Launceston General Hospital; or
- Huonville (Huon Valley Practice) from the Royal Hobart Hospital
Interns will work in the local general practice under a parallel consulting model (sometimes referred to as wave consulting). The Intern will begin seeing 1-2 patients per hour. This may increase as the Intern gains more experience and confidence. After the Intern performs an initial patient assessment, the Intern and GP supervisor will conclude each consultation together. Every patient that the Intern sees will also be seen by a GP at the practice.
These general practice terms will expose the Intern to a wide variety of clinical presentations, and provide an excellent transition from the theoretical student years to the actual provision of medical care within a supervised and supported environment.
In addition to linking into the hospital Intern Tutorial program, the Intern will have additional opportunities for informal and formal education - including daily ward rounds, one lunchtime patient discussion meeting per week, and a formal education program covering a range of primary care conditions. This weekly program will concentrate on topics not always taught in the hospital setting, and problems and solutions more commonly seen and used in General Practice. These education sessions will be conducted from one of the five locations, with the Interns from the other four locations participating by video or tele-conference.
The Postgraduate Medical Education Council of Tasmania has accredited these terms as non-core terms to form part of the 47 weeks of supervised practice as an Intern before being eligible for general registration. Interns who undertake a general practice term will still be required to complete the three core terms in emergency, medicine and surgery.
The following roster shows a typical week for an Intern in general practice:
| Time | Activity | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30am |
| Hospital supervised training |
| 9:30am |
| GP patient experience |
| 1:00-2:00pm | LUNCH
| Formal and informal Educational Sessions |
| 2:00-5:00pm |
| Formal Rural Medicine Educational Session Broad Integrated Primary Care and Preventive Health Experience |
Proposed 13-week formal education session topics (to be adjusted dependent on length of term)
Week One: Intro to General Practice
Week Two: Chronic Disease Management
Week Three: Prevention in General Practice
Week Four: Coronary Health Disease
Week Five: Tips and Office Procedures
Week Six: Diabetes
Week Seven: Rural General Practice
Week Eight: Interactive Case Studies 1
Week Nine: Asthma
Week Ten: 10 Problems You Only See in General Practice
Week Eleven: Mental Health
Week Twelve: Interactive Case Studies 2
Week Thirteen: Osteoporosis and Arthritis
Practical Details
- The Intern will work standard hours with no overtime or weekend work.
- The University of Tasmania will provide free accommodation in each of the five locations.
- The Interns on King Island and Flinders Island will be provided with flights to and from the island at the beginning and end of the term and an additional return airfare in the middle of the term.
- Interns on the two islands will also be provided with a motor vehicle and fuel card.
- Interns in the other three locations will continue to be employed by the THS during their general practice term, they will be covered by THS indemnity.
This initiative is made possible through the Commonwealth Government's Rural Junior Doctor Innovation Fund (RJDTIF) and support from the University of Tasmania's Postgraduate Medical Training Hub.