GP25 conference ‘a strong voice for GPs’

The RACGP’s flagship conference has been declared a resounding success with a collective sense of connection by the GP profession, with college President Dr Michael Wright saying the event was a valuable opportunity to hear from experts and learn new ideas in providing the highest quality care for patients.
 
‘All in all, it’s been an amazing few days’ he told newsGP.
 
‘For the first day the highlight was the fireside chat with the Health Minister – and letting him hear the feedback from our members about a lot of our concerns was really valuable.
 
‘I’m really pleased he came in person and pleased that members feel heard and that they actually got to witness that.’
 
Day two of the conference in Brisbane, on Turrbal and Jagera Country, was opened by Queensland Health Minister Timothy Nicholls, who thanked the college for its leadership and general practice advocacy, and the state’s GPs for meeting the health needs of their communities.
 
A keynote presentation followed from Professor James Ward, a leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, who discussed how to build health equity through research and health policy.
 
The afternoon’s program welcomed Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay speaking about embedding human rights in general practice care.
 
‘Human rights are experienced in everyday interactions, in the everyday choices we make, in the systems we design, in the care we provide,’ she said.
 
‘Every GP knows that medicine isn’t just about science, it’s about human beings – and viewing that humanity into everything you do is absolutely critical.
 
‘You see people at their most vulnerable. You deal every day with complex ethical dilemmas, and you witness the system inequities that shape public health outcomes.’
 
Also included on the agenda for day two was an RACGP Foundation research breakfast panel, where Dr Wright chaired a discussion from general practice researchers, including Vice President and WA Chair Dr Ramya Raman, and Rural Chair Associate Professor Michael Clements, on strategies for innovative and evidence-based research to ensure a future-ready GP profession.
 
A range of clinical and professional development sessions were held across the weekend, ranging from cancer screening updates, aged care, menopause, integrating multidisciplinary teams into general practice, GP and registrar wellbeing, and the future of the GP workforce.
 
The RACGP Awards ceremony took place on Saturday evening, where close to 20 extraordinary GPs, registrars, supervisors, researchers and veteran GPs were honoured.
 
Rural GP Dr Justin Coleman delivered an engaging keynote address to open day three of the conference, discussing what matters most in rural and remote general practice, sharing a personal account of the rewards and unique challenges of rural generalism, and how to ensure these communities thrive.
 
Dr Coleman highlighted the impact on health and system outcomes of embedding one GP into a remote community, encouraging ‘all GPs to give it a go’ and that 98% of the skills metro GPs have can be applied to rural and remote general practice.
 
A panel discussion with Dr Wright joined by international colleagues, Immediate Past WONCA President, Canada College of Family Physicians President, and Hong Kong College of Family Physicians President, looked at lessons from other countries on the future of general practice and how we can work together to overcome similar challenges.
 
‘Increasingly, lots of our health systems have the same challenges, that we need to invest more in general practice, but too often we keep pouring more money into hospitals and it’s not the right way,’ Dr Wright said.
 
RACGP Queensland and Conference Chair Dr Cath Hester told newsGP that overall, it was an ‘inspirational’ weekend.
 
‘I am so pleased to be here with all my GP colleagues – I’ve learned so much, I’ve been inspired, I’ve been humbled,’ she said.
 
‘As a GP leader, it’s been so important for me to be here and hear what’s important to college members and what we can be doing to support them in their work in the community.

‘If there’s anything that I hope members take away from the weekend, and most important to me is the sense of connection, belonging and collegiate support that we have from being members of the RACGP.’
 
Dr Wright echoed his Board colleague, saying it was reinvigorating to hear the support and enthusiasm from members at the conference.
 
‘It certainly reiterates that the college has a strong voice – our voice is being heard and that’s really important,’ he said.
 
‘And the range of presentations we have had showing GPs being the expert in so many different areas. GPs are leading the way in our clinical practice, but also more broadly across the health system, and fills me with joy more than anything that we are leading the health system.
 
‘We often don’t get recognised for it, and we probably don’t get funded enough for doing it as well.
 
‘Overall it’s been great to see so many familiar faces and meet a number of new people. Bring on GP26.’
 
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