Hats off to rural GPs

Rural GPs wear many hats, but this one is particularly special.
 
Australian-made, wide brim hats were recently gifted to Advanced Rural General Practice and Rural Generalist (RG) Fellows by the RACGP Rural Faculty at recent ceremonies in South Australia and Queensland.
 
The hats are designed to be a nod to life in the bush, bringing about a sense of belonging and identity, and introducing new Fellows to the role of the Rural Faculty and the support it provides.
 
RACGP Rural Chair Associate Professor Michael Clements said the idea emerged in Perth at GP24, when the Rural Faculty was looking into ways to recognise RGs that have undertaken additional training.
 
‘When we were at the GP24 conference in Perth and the hat stand was there, we thought that’s very rural – that style of hat is certainly synonymous with being out on the farms and on the land,’ he told newsGP.
 
The hats are for new RG Fellows attending their ceremonies and can be worn on stage as they receive their award.
 
Associate Professor Clements said the uptake and enthusiasm at recent ceremonies in SA and QLD was ‘amazing’, with many opting to wear their new hats when collecting their Fellowship awards.
 
‘They wanted to be identifiable and recognised as being a rural doctor and having a rural generalist Fellowship, and it really became quite a must-have item,’ he said.
 
‘It’s Australian made, of course, and it’s synonymous with being out in the land. We’re very thrilled that the members have taken it up with gusto.’
 
Associate Professor Clements said he hopes it serves as a practical item as well as ‘a reminder of the additional steps these doctors have undertaken to provide these wonderful services to the rural communities’.
 
And they definitely come in handy, he adds.
 
‘I have two hats now. I’ve got my practical hat that I use when I’m out bush and when I’m flying my plane – I take it out to land at the different communities and wear it, because it’s very practical.
 
‘And I’ve got a dress hat now that I’ll have to keep looking good for when I’m on stage.’
 
The hats are gifted to FRACGP-RG and FARGP Fellows in attendance at a Fellowship ceremony (they are unavailable for non-attending Fellows). The popular hats are also available for purchase in a rural wallaroo and jillaroo version in the RACGP shop.
 
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