SA welcomes 74 new GPs

After years of education, training, and ‘seriously tough exams’, Australia’s newest GPs have been celebrated at an Adelaide Fellowship ceremony, on Kaurna Country.
 
Earlier this month, the RACGP welcomed 74 new GPs to the profession, with RACGP South Australia Chair Dr Siân Goodson saying the ceremony ‘marks the end of a long and demanding journey’.
 
‘You’ve truly earned this moment,’ she said.
 
‘You’ve completed years of study, reflection, hands-on experience, and received guidance from incredible GP supervisors – not to mention some seriously tough exams.
 
‘As GPs, we’re specialists in the unknown. We interpret symptoms that aren’t always obvious, draw on clinical examinations, test results, and insights from other specialists, and arrive at a diagnosis from a sea of possibilities.
 
‘That’s no small feat.’
 
Addressing the new GPs, Dr Goodson said they are now the ‘first point of contact for patients facing complex health challenges’.
 
‘You’re the doctor they confide in about their mental health, the one checking in after a hospital stay, the one they turn to when starting a family, and the one who helps them stay well through every stage of life,’ she said.
 
‘This is a proud moment, and the RACGP couldn’t be more excited to see how you’ll shape the health and wellbeing of communities across South Australia.’
 
Among the 74 New Fellows are 17 Rural Generalists who have undertaken Additional Rural Skills Training in areas such as anaesthesia and obstetrics.
 
Their graduation comes after rural generalism was formally recognised as a specialist medical field within general practice in September, following six years of advocacy from the RACGP and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright, who also attended the Adelaide ceremony, used the occasion to emphasise the vital role of GPs in Australia’s healthcare system.
 
‘Australia has never needed specialist GPs more than it does right now, and the RACGP is training more GPs to meet that need,’ he said.
 
‘As new graduates you represent a new generation of GPs caring for patients across South Australia – something that fills me with pride as our profession grows and strengthen,’ he said.
 
‘General practice is one of the most rewarding paths in medicine. It’s challenging, but it’s also full of variety, flexibility, and the chance to build deep, lasting relationships with patients.
 
‘No other specialty offers that kind of connection.’
 
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Fellowship ceremony new Fellows RACGP Fellowship Rural Generalist