News

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Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values in GP training

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, ways of being and doing will be better included in general practice education and training across Australia with the launch of a new training framework.
 
Released on Thursday on Whadjuk Noongar Country at the RACGP’s GP24 conference, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural and Health Training Framework is the first of its kind.
 
Focussing on 12 guiding principles, the framework honours Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and embeds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values and culture into the RACGP’s GP Training and education program.
 
RACGP National Clinical Head of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Training Dr Olivia O’Donoghue is now encouraging all GPs to ‘become familiar with the guiding principles that underpin every aspect of this framework’.
 
‘They are the way forward and inform the way for the work to come alive, they are the way we engage with medicine, health, and healing, and the way we can meaningfully engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘The principles have been well-researched right across the world by First Nations peoples, they speak to unpacking decolonisation and honouring sovereignty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
 
‘Building up leadership, as well as thinking about how we can reframe the way we talk about and represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
 
‘Using a strength-based approach, minimising deficit language and dichotomous language and working toward a health system that’s free of racism.’
 
The framework’s guiding principles were identified by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the Framework Steering Committee and are supported by First Nations-led research:

• Decolonisation
• Sovereignty
• Self-determination
• Indigenisation
• Cultural safety
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership
• Equity
• Strengths-based approaches
• Racism, discrimination and privilege
• Trauma-informed approaches
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, and ways of knowing, being and doing
• Indigenous data sovereignty

The framework also includes clear recommendations and guidelines for their implementation and aims to lay the foundation for an evolving process through which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values can be centred and amplified – overtime enriching all aspects of GP Training.
 
It calls for processes to enable all GP trainees and fellowed GPs to undertake Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural learning and cultural safety training as part of their continuous personal and professional journey.
 
‘The RACGP is strongly committed to training and workforce equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors,’ Dr O’Donoghue said.
 
She said this is something she is ‘really passionate about’.
 
‘The framework covers the importance of supporting the pipeline of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors who currently only make up 0.04% of our GP workforce,’ she said.
 
The framework also outlines the importance of the RACGP encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors to choose to train as specialist GPs and how the college and broader general practice community can best provide support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues throughout their training and careers.
 
Dr Karen Nicholls, Chair of RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, told newsGP it was ‘really important’ the framework was developed by senior and experienced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical experts and cultural education experts.
 
‘Why that’s important is that it is the lens that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people bring to this space, that it is a demonstration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people knowing what is needed to help guide the college through providing quality medical education for our GPs in training,’ she said.
 
‘It’s also guidance on how we can support and increase the workforce, in terms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors.’
 
In terms of the whole health workforce, Dr Nicholls said ‘we know that people are interested in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health’.
 
‘But they may be nervous or anxious, and the knowledge of what they don’t know may be a barrier, so this helps support that growth of knowledge that our GPs and training can get when it comes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health,’ she said.
 
Moving forward, it is hoped the implementation of the framework’s recommendations will lead to better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
 
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said the framework marks an important step forward for the college.
 
‘As the peak body responsible for training 90% of Australia’s GPs, the RACGP is committed to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by supporting and training our GPs to deliver culturally safe care,’ she said. 
 
‘Recognising rights and sovereignty is essential to close the gap in health inequities.
 
‘Our framework will ensure this is visible across the college, and will enhance our GP training program, ultimately helping to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.’
 
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural safety cultural training GPs in training

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