Time running out to apply for the Practice Experience Program

Non-vocationally registered (non-VR) doctors are being encouraged to sign up to the Practice Experience Program (PEP) as the end of a Federal Government subsidy draws nearer.
 
The Non-VR Fellowship Support Program was introduced in 2019 to help medical practitioners towards Fellowship, and applications for the current intake are set to close on Monday 19 July.
 
The Commonwealth program, which ends in 2023, provides funding towards training, with additional costs covered by participants. It has the goal of facilitating vocational registration as a specialist GP.
 
The RACGP delivers the program through PEP, and attaining Fellowship lets doctors access the highest tier of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items.
 
‘The intent behind the PEP is to provide support to non-VR doctors who are seeking to gain Fellowship, acknowledging it is really difficult to do this while in practice and without support,’ RACGP Censor-in-Chief Dr Tess van Duuren told newsGP.
 
‘By joining the PEP, there is the opportunity to have a structured program with support from medical educators and the organisations that know a lot about education.’
 
Dr van Duuren said previous participants that completed PEP have rated it highly.
 
‘I think 74% agreed that participating in the PEP has increased their confidence in exam success and 87% would recommend the PEP to other non-VR doctors, so I think there’s a vote of confidence from people who have actually gone down this path,’ she said.
 
‘While they are in the PEP, their exam clock is stopped. It buys you not only support, but it buys you some time.’
 
A rule change from January next year will mean all doctors will need to enrol in an RACGP-approved program or have completed the PEP – Standard Stream in order to sit Fellowship exams.
 
The PEP has two separate streams, including the Standard Stream for applicants without a specialist qualification and the Specialist Stream for those with a specialist qualification.
 
Both are currently open for applications.
 
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FRACGP Non-Vocationally Registered Fellowship Support Program PEP