As we move into the second half of the year, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the continued commitment and adaptability of rural and remote GPs across the country. The demands on rural practitioners remain high – whether that’s responding to local workforce shortages, delivering high-quality care across broad scopes of practice, or advocating for better systems to support our communities. It’s a privilege to represent you in this work.

I had the pleasure of attending the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland (RDAQ) Conference at the end of June. The energy and engagement was especially inspiring and I appreciated the renewed focus on advocating for and championing community primary care in rural Queensland. It was lovely to represent the College on panel discussions regarding overseas trained doctors and the evolution of training but most importantly it was a great opportunity to connect with friends who are more like family. We wish Dr David Walker, the incoming RDAQ president the best for his presidency and look forward to continued strong relationships and support. 

I also recently hosted an RACGP Rural member meet-up in my local area, Townsville, which was held in conjunction with a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) education session. I encourage members to keep an eye on our RACGP Rural education and training page for more upcoming opportunities across the country. I also attended the Are you remotely interested? conference led by James Cook University in Mt Isa that takes an all-health profession approach to supporting remote communities with a view to multidisciplinary care – tailored to place and community. As part of the visit, I went with the rural education team to visit GP practices in Mt Isa and the hospital where we discussed how the RACGP can best support GP and RG training in the region.
 
Looking ahead, RACGP elections will open for nominations at the end of July. This is a significant opportunity for members to step into leadership roles and help shape the direction of our College. I encourage rural members, especially those passionate about advocacy, education and equity, to consider nominating here.

A/Prof Michael Clements
Chair, RACGP Rural

The RACGP election cycle is now open, and this is your chance to join the Rural Faculty Council and represent your rural and remote GP community.

Serving on the Council is a powerful way to shape the future of rural general practice, advocate for your peers and patients – ensure rural voices are heard in key College decisions and national policy discussions.

As a council member, you’ll contribute to strengthening rural healthcare, guiding RACGP Rural’s priorities, and supporting initiatives that attract and retain the rural GP workforce.
 
This year, we’re calling for nominations for the following roles:

• Northern Territory Representative
• Tasmania Representative
• Western Australian Representative
• South Australian Representative

Congratulations to our Rural Generalist New Fellows

Congratulations to our new Rural Generalist Fellows who completed FRACGP-RG in June 2025.

Doctors for Women in Rural Medicine

The RACGP Rural’s Doctors for Women in Rural Medicine Committee were thrilled to host a member meet-up with special guest speaker Professor Jenny May, National Rural Health Commissioner, talking all things mentoring.
 
Missed the live event? Catch up on the DWRM website where you can watch this and a selection of other recordings.

Introduction to Point-of-care Ultrasound - Launceston

RACGP Rural invites you to attend an Introduction to Point-of-care Ultrasound workshop in Townsville.
 
Date: Saturday 4 October 
Time: 8.30 am – 4.30 pm
Venue: Launceston Clinical School, Level 2/41 Frankland Street, Launceston 7250
Cost: $995 for RACGP members, $695 for RACGP registrars

About the course:
This full-day workshop will help increase your understanding of the applications of this tool in the diagnostic process. Experts will guide you through the diverse applications of point-of-care ultrasound in rural primary care. You will be introduced to basic techniques using advanced, high-end mobile ultrasound equipment provided by our sponsor GE HealthCare.
 
The workshop is capped at 30 participants to allow increased hands-on experience. Participants will rotate through six ultrasound skills stations:

• eFast
• deep venous thrombosis
• heart and lung ultrasound
• intravenous line placement and foreign object retrieval
• musculoskeletal soft tissue
• first trimester transabdominal obstetric ultrasound.

This workshop is sponsored by our partner GE HealthCare.

The Rural Procedural Grants Program (RPGP) helps cover the cost of professional development for GPs who provide procedural and/or emergency medicine services in unsupervised settings in rural and remote areas.

Not in the program?
Join the RPGP. It’s a great opportunity to access financial assistance, maintain or update your procedural and or emergency medicine skills so you can continue to provide vital services to your rural or remote community. You may be eligible for up to $32,000 in funding per financial year, depending on the services you are credentialed to provide.

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. 

AGPT Rural and Rural Generalist training

The RACGP presented at the Are you remotely interested?  conference at the Murtupuni Centre for Rural and Remote Health in Mount Isa in July. The session was presented by Associate Professor Michael Clements and Dr Cindi Jackson and delved into initiatives and policy levers that have an impact on distribution of registrars which is a key strategy for influencing equitable distribution of the general practice workforce longer term.
 
The key message was that registrar distribution has been influenced by a multipronged strategy that includes:

• one-on-one case management of registrars
• practice capacity setting
• local specific registrar incentives
• meaningful rural stakeholder engagement
• rural webinars
• registrar excursions and regional promotions. 

Supervisory capacity was mentioned as an issue requiring attention – remote supervision is one way the College is supporting training to continue in locations where supervision is a challenge.
 
Expressions of interest to join our pool of remote supervisors close on 31 July. We’re building a pool of remote supervisors to support general practice training in rural Queensland communities. A remote supervisor is one who primarily supervises their registrar remotely using phone, video conferencing and email technologies. There is also an expectation for some face-to-face time with the registrar a few times during the training semester. Remote supervisors are matched to training sites that need additional supervision support to continue training registrars. As part of a broader supervisory team, you may work alongside part-time supervisors, other doctors within the clinic, nurses, allied health professionals, practice managers and other staff. Remote supervisors are paid in line with the remote supervision payments schedule 2 and are reimbursed for travel expenses. Further information is available in the remote supervision guidelines. 
 
Express your interest here

Nominate today for the 2025 National Rural and Remote Health Awards

Nominations are now open for the third National Rural and Remote Health Awards, which celebrate the extraordinary efforts of health professionals and organisations serving remote and rural communities across Australia.    
 
Inaugurated by Rural Health Pro, the Awards take place each November as part of Rural Health Month and nominations can be peer, organisation, patient or self-nominated.

Nominations are open from 2 June – 11 August for the following ten categories: 

• Outstanding Contribution to Rural/Remote Health Access 
• Rural/Remote Aged or Disability Carer of the Year 
• Excellence in Rural/Remote Health Administration 
• Rural/Remote Multidisciplinary Collaboration of the Year  
• Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healthcare 
• Rural/Remote Health Professional of the Year 
• Rising Star in Rural/Remote Health  
• Dedication to Health in a Remote Location  
• Rural/Remote Health Innovator of the Year  
• Rural/Remote Health Employer of the Year 

Using ADHD Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines Audit

In light of recent media interest, we are pleased to announce the release of a new audit on gplearning: ‘Using ADHD Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines’. This audit has been developed by the ADHD, ASD and Neurodiversity SIG Chair, Associate Professor John Kramer and is now available for GPs to complete.
 
Further information can be found via myCPD  and also gpLearning

Pre-hospital and retrieval medicine (PHRM) is an exciting field of medicine, attracting practitioners who love the unique challenges it brings, the variety of experiences, and the chance to collaborate across so many specialities. 
 
The Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the RACGP, together with Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) offer the Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine Training Program as a structured, on-the-job, experiential training program aimed at appropriately experienced doctors looking to work within PHRM services and actively participate in missions. Graduates qualify as PHRM Associates with the post-nominal A(PHRM).
 
The PHRM training program requires satisfactory completion of a minimum of a six-month 1.0 FTE training placement within a Conjoint Committee of Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine (CCPHRM) -accredited PHRM site, structured Workplace-Based Assessments (WBAs) and examinations. Training can be undertaken full or part time.

Click here to hear from Fellows of different colleges on what they love about working in PHRM, and to find out how you can enrol. You can also email ACEM with any questions.

Have your say on the future of rural generalism

The Queensland rural generalist 20 year forum in Roma in October, hosted by the Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway (QRGP), intends to frame the future of rural generalism over the next five to ten years.

Help the QRGP explore what the future should look like and what needs to happen to get there by completing their challenges and future perspectives survey. Your responses will help shape discussions at the forum and beyond.

You don’t have to be working in Queensland to respond – the QRGP is looking for nationwide views and perspectives. Take 20 minutes to help frame the future.
 
If you would like to attend the forum, in person or online, please register via the QRGP website.

Expression of Interest: Join the RACGP Rural Anaesthesia Advisory Group (RRAAG)

RACGP Rural is seeking Expressions of Interest from members to represent Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and the training cohort on the RACGP Rural Anaesthesia Advisory Group (RRAAG).
 
The RRAAG provides strategic advice and clinical insight to RACGP Rural on issues relating to rural generalist anaesthesia practice, including training, workforce, policy and safety. The group includes experienced GP anaesthetists from across the country and works in close collaboration with other stakeholders.
 
We are currently looking to fill three representative roles:

• Tasmanian representative
• Northern Territory representative
• Training representative (GP anaesthetist trainee)

Online Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training

RACGP Rural’s Online Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training (FPS ST) package provides GPs with essential training to enable them to become a GP provider of Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS) and provide cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-derived counselling to patients in their practice.
 
This flexible, fully online and accredited training package uses technology, peer learning groups and locally available resources to provide GPs with access to complete all the requirements of FPS ST – without leaving their home or practice. 
 
On completion, GPs can register with Medicare as FPS providers and access FPS related MBS numbers 2721, 2723, 2725 and 2727.
 
The General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC) is currently offering GPs a training subsidy that covers part of the cost of completing accredited Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training (FPS ST). The subsidy is limited and subject to availability.
 
Eligible GPs will be reimbursed $600 once they complete the requirements for the Online FPS ST package and register as GP providers of FPS with Medicare Australia. For more information on the FPS training subsidy, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, visit the GPMHSC website.