Registrar excursion shows off rural healthcare

From the classroom to the country, a group of 11 general practice registrars have taken a tour of rural Queensland to discover what life is really like for regional doctors.
 
The RACGP’s latest registrar rural excursion saw the cohort travelling to Dalby and Oakey, two small towns west of Brisbane, to get a taste of rural practice.
 
The jam-packed schedule included a visit to the Myall Medical Centre, Dalby Hospital, Oakey Medical Centre and Oakey Hospital.
 
The registrars were also joined by a long list of local mayors and politicians to discuss how they can help registrars to train rurally, as well as how to address the challenges faced in accessing childcare and accommodation while working.
 
RACGP Rural Chair Associate Professor Michael Clements told newsGP the excursion is all about providing a good rural experience and exposure for registrars.
 
‘It’s almost like a concierge service trying to support these doctors in finding new homes and then new training practices – and that’s certainly paying off,’ he said.
 
‘We can use trips like this to try and convert people that may not have originally thought of going to these towns into thinking about actually doing a placement.
 
‘I think we will be seeing more and more of these rural sites filled with interested doctors because we’re able to use flexible funding tools and options to support the training practices and the trainees.’
 
The group also used the opportunity to discuss disaster preparedness and the importance of ensuring GP representation on local disaster coordination committees.
 
The visit comes as the RACGP doubles down on calls for additional funding to support rural GPs amid staff shortages.
 
Associate Professor Clements has long been calling for targeted and tailored solutions to help address the struggle of attracting and retaining healthcare professionals in regional Australia.
 
He said the Dalby and Oakey visit comes as continuous studies confirm that rural GPs are the most professionally satisfied and connected to their community.
 
‘They describe having a wide scope of practice and a balance of their work and their family life in a much more fulfilling way on average than some of our city doctors report,’ he said.
 
‘What we have to do is expose some of the people [who] might have originally seen themselves a city doctors to these rural clinics, these sites, and the communities, houses, clinics, and the hospitals, just to open their eyes and broaden their minds to different ways of working.’
 
The next registrar rural excursion will head to Murgon and Kingaroy in Queensland on 7 August.
 
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general practice registrars regional healthcare rural healthcare