It’s great to be back as the Rural Chair, after my mandatory ‘step-down’ period, during the RACGP Presidential election.  I am committed to this role and will continue to advocate for our remote and rural communities in my role on the Board and in support of the President-Elect Dr Michael Wright. 

Two weeks ago, I met with the new National Rural Health Commissioner, Professor Jenny May AM, to discuss her agenda for rural and remote health. We had a meaningful chat about some of the achievements of RACGP Rural and our priorities and vision for the future and I am very much looking forward to continuing this dialogue. We are honored to have Professor Jenny May AM attend our annual RACGP Rural Member Forum tonight where you will also get a chance to hear from her.

Last week I had the privilege of attending the WONCA Rural – Ubuntu 2024 in Cape Town. We had a good contingent from Australia make the journey over and I was able to give a couple of presentations on Australian issues while learning more of the international challenges and innovative solutions that are occurring across the globe. There was a stream of talks about Geographical Narcissism that talked about the impacts of medical migration. Discussions acknowledged the ethical challenges and concerns raised when developed nations pursue workforces from areas that desperately need doctors to remain. They also made it clear that we must always respect the autonomy and agency of individual doctors seeking to move themselves and their families to countries of their choosing.

We’re also happy to announce that Rural Generalist Recognised Prior Learning (RG RPL) applications have now all been reviewed, with the backlog cleared. The team will be making contact shortly with the approximate 100 applicants who need to provide additional information in order to progress.

Conference season is upon us and I hope to see some of you at RMA24 in Darwin and GP24 in Perth. There is still a lot going on in the Federal space with discussions on incentive reviews and scope of practice, because we must continue to hear your voices on these issues please continue to engage with us on our Faculty Facebook page and continue the important discussions we need to have.

Finally, with the Faculty Election results now finalised, I’d like to warmly welcome our new representatives to the Rural Council and thank our retiring representatives for their commitment and engagement over the course of their terms.

A/Prof Michael Clements
Chair, RACGP Rural

Deputy Chairs Report

Dr Vicki Mattiazzo

I was very pleased to attend the ACT/NSW Fellowship ceremony on the 17th of August. It was great to see so many Fellows celebrate their hard work with family and friends. It was a reminder of the hard work and impact training has on those around us so a big shout out to our support networks. This is a good time to remind members about the GP support service where we can go for support outside of family and friends and I encourage you to take a quick look at the site should you or a colleagues need it.

I was also very pleased to receive my Rural Generalist Fellowship. I achieved this largely through recognition of prior experience in the Rural Small Towns, Additional Rural Skills Training (ARST) If you are a Fellowed GP who thinks you may qualify, I encourage you to reach out to the rural generalist team. But it is also worthwhile remembering that you don’t need to be a rural generalist to work rural. Rural communities need primary health care providers and at RACGP rural we are looking at ways to support urban based GPs to try working rural, even if for the short term or on a returning locum basis.
 

Rodney Omond

I was fortunate to attend a member-meet up in Warrnambool at the end of last month, which presented a fantastic opportunity to meet and reconnect with some of our rural colleagues. I strongly encourage you all to attend a meet-up when convenient. They present as great opportunities to stay connected with colleagues, as well as stay up to date with what’s happening in other areas. Upcoming meet-ups can be found here: upcoming events

I also managed to welcome attendees of the Point-of-Care-Ultrasound workshop held the following day. It was great to see an enthusiastic group in attendance. There are a couple of workshops left for the year, and I encourage you to explore these.

Boost your skills with the Rural Procedural Grants Program

Did you know you may be eligible for the Rural Procedural Grants Program (RPGP) if you provide unsupervised procedural and/or emergency medicine services in rural and remote areas classified as MMM3-7? This Department of Health funding enables access to relevant educational activities designed to maintain or enhance procedural and emergency medicine skills.   
 
New program guidelines which include updated eligibility criteria such as overseas activities and continued online activity eligibility, were released in May 2024. You can view these guidelines on our website.

 If you have any questions about the RPGP, or your eligibility, we’re here to help. The dedicated RPGP team can support you throughout the application or claims process and assist with any queries. Please visit our website,  email the team or give us a call on 1800 636 764 for more information.  

Join ACEM's Conjoint Committee of Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine

We are looking for one RACGP member to be appointed to ACEM's Conjoint Committee of Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine (CCPHRM) for the 2024-2026 term of office.

The new representative would start from October 2024. The committee meets four times a year, with additional time sometimes required for subcommittee involvement and exam writing/assessment.

Nominees should be experienced in medical education and training and currently (actively) practicing PHRM.

If interested, please send through your CV to rural@racgp.org.au as soon as possible.

Attend our free monthly Rural Health Webinar Series

The Rural Health webinar series presents free monthly webinars on rural and remote health topics, held on the first Thursday of the month.
 
GPs can participate without leaving their practice or community, with relevant content tailored to their needs.
 
Upcoming sessions:
 

Unable to attend live? All the sessions in this series are recorded and made available on the RACGP website

Grandparenting applications: Rural Generalist Anaesthesia Qualification

As the Joint Consultative Committee on Anaesthesia (JCCA) is no longer responsible for GP anaesthesia training in Australia the committee closed on 30 June 2024.

Current practising RGAs who have completed the JCCA training program can apply for grandparenting to the RGA until 31 December 2024 on the ANZCA website. Basic requirements include working in MMM3-7 with current credentialling for anaesthesia.
 
For enquiries please email rga@anzca.edu.au

Updated law modules to support clinical decision-making at end of life

End of Life Law for Clinicians (ELLC) is a free national training program for health professionals and students about end of life decision-making laws across Australia. ELLC has updated its 13 online training modules to include new law and enhance interactive learning.

Find out from ELLC’s 10,000^th registrant how the modules can you support clinical practice. Hear more about why knowing the law matters in this short video.

Improve your delivery of culturally safe and responsive end of life care by completing ELLC’s latest modules on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and diverse health populations.

Learn how ELLC supports health, acute care, and aged care services to meet safety and quality standards and accreditation requirements in our free guides.

Register for free at ellc.edu.au . CPD points may be claimed from your professional body. Certificates of completion are available.

We’re excited to announce the program of optional pre-conference workshops at GP24, taking place on Wednesday 20 November 2024.
 
RACGP Rural will be running two workshops for our members on rural emergency medicine and point-of-care ultrasound. Other topics include cultural safety, dermatology, point-of-care ultrasound and more. These workshops provide an opportunity to add additional learning to your GP24 experience in Perth, and earn extra CPD hours.

Learn from industry experts in a collaborative, hands-on environment, and gain practical skills to take back into your practice.

Plus, the full conference program includes:

• 5 keynote presentations
• 72 concurrent sessions
• 110+ speakers
• 2 breakfast symposiums
• Up to 29 hours of CPD for members
• Our GP24 Gala Dinner

Enhance your rural emergency medicine skills

Designed and facilitated by experienced rural GPs and emergency specialists, the emergency medicine for rural GPs online workshop aims to enhance rural emergency medicine skills using case scenarios that reflect the challenges faced when living and working in rural and remote communities.

This online workshop involves four small-group interactive case scenario discussions and is capped at 40 participants. The workshop will also explore critical considerations involved in managing rural emergency cases, packaging patients for retrieval, communicating effectively with retrieval teams, debriefing and self-care. All the scenarios included in the workshop are written by experienced rural GPs from real-life cases.

This workshop is open to registered GPs, GPs in training and RACGP resident and intern members. You’ll earn 1.5 educational activities hours and 4.5 reviewing performance CPD hours.

You can also apply for a one-day online emergency medicine grant through the Rural Procedural Grants Program.

Complete Focussed Psychological Strategies CPD before the end of triennium

To enjoy continued recognition as a registered GP provider of Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS), you must complete an FPS CPD training activity every triennium following the triennium in which you completed FPS training.
 
Our FPS CPD package supports GPs who are already FPS providers to implement FPS with patients, evaluate their practice and further develop their skills. GPs can earn 9 RP CPD hours.