New RACGP NT Faculty to provide ‘a voice and platform for GPs’

As the sun set over Alice Springs on Monday evening, members of the RACGP Board, faculty managers and college staff congregated to launch the new Northern Territory (NT) Faculty in the traditional lands of the Arrernte people.
 
The event, attended by newsGP, also included a ‘meet the members’ function and acknowledged 30 years of RACGP Rural.
 
RACGP SA&NT Chair, Dr Danny Byrne, welcomed the around 40 attendees and presented an overview of the college’s recent progress.
 
‘It has been a very busy time for the RACGP,’ Dr Byrne said.
 
‘We have had the commencement of our new CEO, a restructure of the executive management team, preparation to bring profession-led training [PLT] to the college, and now, the founding of the NT Faculty.’
 
The establishment of a dedicated NT Faculty is the first time in 11 years the college has developed a faculty from the ground up. An interim NT Faculty Council was set up in May, which will lead the faculty until formal elections are held in 2023 as part of the regular election cycle.
 
RACGP President Adjunct Professor Karen Price spoke at the event, saying she was ‘thrilled’ to help launch the new faculty in Alice Springs.
 
‘Alice Springs is a unique and beautiful place with a lot to offer to the rest of the country – there’s so much we can learn,’ she said.
 
‘I hope we can continue the connections and kinship with Indigenous culture that we have and disseminate that around Australia.
 
‘I’m really looking forward to what we can do with the territory faculty.’
 
Judith Oliver is the inaugural NT Faculty Manager. She comes from a pharmacy background and is looking forward to sharing her experiences to the college.
 
‘GPs and pharmacists actually have a lot in common,’ she said at the event.
 
‘A lot of the challenges in the community that they serve is the same.
 
‘I hope I can bring some of the skills and knowledge of the way government works and the advocacy methods that are tried and true.
 
‘I’m really looking forward to working with members in the NT to create a voice and a platform for GPs.’
 
In addition to the college’s new presence in the territory, RACGP Rural continues to celebrate 30 years in 2022.
 
The faculty has made significant developments to rural education and advocacy, providing a range of supports to assist rural and remote GPs and GPs in training on their general practice journeys.
 
Currently, the faculty has more than 22,000 members, representing four out of five rural GPs – the largest rural membership of any medical college in Australia.  
 
According to RACGP Rural, the strength of the faculty lies in its membership, and through close consultation with the profession it will continue to deliver valuable input to future rural and remote healthcare initiatives and champion rural health.
 
‘It is a very exciting time for the RACGP with lots happening,’ Dr Byrne said while concluding the evening.
 
‘We encourage you to play an active role in your college.’
 
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Northern Territory RACGP Board RACGP Rural