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Refugee health skillset acknowledged
RACGP Fellows can now apply for Recognition of Extended Skills in migrant, refugee and asylum seeker health.
The Recognition of Extended Skills acknowledges the critical role GPs play in health and wellbeing for migrant, refugee and asylum seeker communities.
A new specific interest area has been added to the RACGP’s Recognition of Extended Skills (RES) program, acknowledging the experience of GPs who work with migrant, refugee and asylum seeker communities.
It recognises the ‘critical role’ GPs play in the health and wellbeing of marginalised individuals and communities, with patients from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds often presenting with complex medical, psychological and social needs.
For Dr Rebecca Farley, immediate past Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Refugee Health, the move is ‘an important acknowledgement of the expertise developed through sustained, responsive clinical practice’.
‘Working in refugee health is rewarding because it centres respectful partnership and shared understanding,’ she told newsGP.
‘Patients bring considerable strength and insight shaped by their migration journeys, and they generously share this with us.
‘Providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed care involves recognising these strengths and working collaboratively across languages, cultures and health systems to achieve meaningful health outcomes.
‘It often requires navigating complex systems and evidence bases that do not always reflect the needs of the communities we serve.’
The RES is for GPs who:
- have substantial experience working with migrant, refugee and asylum seeker communities
- provide trauma‑informed, culturally safe and patient‑centred care, understand the impact of forced displacement, migration and resettlement on health
- apply evidence‑based refugee health screening, assessment and follow‑up protocols
- work effectively with interpreters and cross‑cultural communication strategies
- navigate Medicare access and healthcare system barriers for people on temporary or uncertain visas
- collaborate with settlement services, community organisations and multidisciplinary teams
- advocate for equitable access to care and improved health outcomes
- recognise and manage complex presentations including chronic disease, mental health conditions, infectious diseases, and social determinants of health
- understand medico‑legal considerations, including consent, confidentiality, and documentation in the context of migration journeys.
It is the latest area to be added to the
RACGP’s RES program, which offers recognition for GPs who have at least five years’ clinical expertise and depth of applied knowledge and practice in a specific interest area.
Dr Farley said she finds its value lies in the opportunity to share expertise.
‘There is significant knowledge within this field,’ she said.
‘Making that expertise visible and accessible strengthens our collective capacity to provide equitable, high-quality care for our community, whatever our journey may have been.’
The RES initiative was launched in 2023 at the WONCA conference in Sydney, with the first applicants recognised later that year.
Areas covered initially included dermatology, integrative medicine, psychological medicine, addiction medicine, and developmental disability
For full details on the RES for migrant, refugee and asylum seeker health, see the RACGP website.
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