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New incentives encouraging GPs to explore Australia
GP in training Dr Lena Rennick says moving was like ‘going on an adventure’ and is calling on others to make the most of new placement grants.
GP in training Dr Lena Rennick working in Alice Springs.
Sitting inside a Melbourne pub, with her husband and eight-month-old daughter by her side, Dr Lena Rennick received an email which would change everything.
That email was advertising the Northern Territory Placement Support Grants (NT PSGs), which she said immediately drew her in.
By the beginning of this year, she had moved house and set up a new life in Alice Springs, and now she has decided to make that change more permanent.
Having successfully won one of many six-month grants for the NT, Dr Rennick relocated and has enjoyed the work so much, she signed up to complete another six-month placement.
‘Moving from Melbourne to Alice Springs, they’re two completely different places and when I first arrived, I had to get used to a totally new environment,’ she told newsGP.
‘We got here in February, and it was 40 degrees every day, we were away from all our social supports, and it was quite challenging, but at the same time, we had a lot to look forward to.
‘It was so exciting making the move because it had been something we were looking forward to as soon as the opportunity came up, it was like we were going on an adventure, and we saw it as the experience of a lifetime.’
For those wanting a similar adventure, applications for the 2025 RACGP NT PSGs open on August 19 and provide up to $15,000 to eligible individuals.
The program is open to those who are willing to relocate to the NT for a minimum of six months, or for current NT-based registrars who relocate from an MMM2 location to undertake a placement in an MMM6–7 location.
Since her move, Dr Rennick has never looked back.
‘I love it. It’s just more down to earth, I’m more connected to my colleagues and to my patients, and to the community,’ she said.
‘It’s like a big, warm hug being here because you feel like you are really part of something.
‘In Alice Springs, there is such an array of different backgrounds and people here, there are a lot of people who come and go, and a lot of people who come and never go because they just fall in love with the place.’
The new round of grants come as recent RACGP incentives to attract more general practice registrars to rural and remote regions are beginning to pay off, with more new training places being filled and rural places increasing.
But it is a time when rural GPs are more important than ever before, with the NT alone experiencing an 80% drop in new GPs in just seven years.
Dr Rennick said there are challenges to working in a remote location, but it brings out the best in her colleagues and their problem-solving abilities.
‘There are challenges here in Alice Springs, but there are challenges back in Melbourne, there are challenges anywhere you go, and just because there’s a challenge it doesn’t mean I’m not going to give it a go.
‘We see the good here, and I try and stay focused on celebrating the small wins.
‘There are huge issues that I certainly do not have the answers to, and a lot of negative things do make it into the media, but on a day-to-day basis as a GP working in Aboriginal health, it’s a really rewarding life because it brings people together.’
Individual grants available through the NT PSG include:
- Interstate registrars: Relocate to the NT for at least six months and receive up to $10,000. Choose a six-month placement in an MMM6–7 location within the NT and qualify for an additional $5000
- NT registrars: Move from MMM2 to MMM6–7 locations, train for six months, and receive $5000
- Victoria or Queensland composite pathway registrars: Undertake rural rotation in an MMM6–7 location in the NT and receive up to $10,000
This means a general practice registrar who commits to relocating from interstate to an MMM6–7 region in the NT will be eligible for up to $15,000 in grant funding.
Applications close on 20 September and successful applications will be informed on 27 September.
For more information on the program, or to apply for a grant,
visit the RACGP website.
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