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‘Corridor consults’ placing unnecessary stress on registrars
Should general practice registrars be obligated to provide medical care to colleagues and family?
RACGP Registrar Representative Dr Krystyna de Lange says it is important to maintain professional relationships between general practice registrars and their colleagues.
General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA) says no, as do a number of registrars.
GPRA recently released a position statement outlining conflicts of interest for medical practitioners treating work colleagues and family, stating that general practice registrars ‘should not provide clinical consultation services or provide medical care to practice staff or others who they work with, or the immediate family of these professional colleagues’.
RACGP Registrar Representative Dr Krystyna de Lange supports this stance.
‘I think this [position statement] was a great initiative of GPRA in advocating for registrars,’ she told newsGP. ‘It empowers registrars to be able to talk to their practice manager or supervisor about this issue.
‘There are some registrars who struggle to raise concerns like this due to a perceived power imbalance with their supervisor, but this gives them something tangible that they can arm themselves with.'
Dr de Lange believes there are many issues that can arise when general practice registrars provide care to family members or those with whom they work, and this can lead to considerable stress.
‘There can be so many issues that arise when we treat other members of staff, from “corridor consults” with inadequate information, to confidentiality issues, to the challenges with remaining objective to the potential for under-investigation or over-investigation,’ she said.
It is risky to underestimate the potential anxiety that treating staff or family members would place on some registrars, according to Dr de Lange.
‘Imagine as a first-term or second-term registrar, looking at your appointment book to see your supervisors’ child or your practice nurse who booked in to see you – it could be quite confronting,’ she said.
‘Sure, it may be something quite benign, but it can be a slippery slope.
‘It is important that practices are looking out for registrars and ensuring there are appropriate boundaries in place and professional relationships are maintained.’
The GPRA’s recommendations include having a written policy in place for all training practices, informed by the Medical Board of Australia’s
Good medical practice: A code of conduct for doctors in Australia.
General practice supervisors, the GPRA believes, should also be supportive of registrars who reasonably refuse to see practice staff members or their immediate family members.
‘This [GPRA] position statement provides a great starting point [for practices] to develop their own policy about seeing and treating other staff members,’ Dr de Lange said.
‘Obviously each practice is going to be different, but education of staff is going to be key.
‘Ensuring that reception staff are aware that the practice policy is not to book staff members in with registrars would be a good starting point. It is important for supervisors and practice managers to support registrars in their decision not to see staff members wherever reasonable.’
Dr de Lange offers her own advice to minimise pressure on general practice registrars.
‘It is my opinion that wherever possible practice staff and their family members should be encouraged to have their own independent, objective GP outside of the workplace,’ she said.
‘Where this may not be possible, it should be a senior GP who is taking on the responsibility – not the registrar.’
code of conduct conflict of interest general practice registrars GPRA junior doctor
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