The advent of COVID-19 has reinforced the importance for the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) to deliver Australia’s first government-funded Rural Generalist (RG) Training Program this year.
ACRRM President Dr Ewen McPhee says that while the healthcare needs of rural and remote communities are always significant, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the need for more rural doctors who can deliver broadly skilled healthcare to our most vulnerable.
“RGs are specifically trained to be ready to respond to whatever local crisis comes their way, be it traffic accidents, natural disasters or a pandemic, “Dr McPhee says. “Skills like telehealth, emergency hospital care, and public health are all part of the assessed core curriculum of an RG. “Many RGs also have highly specialised skills in areas including anaesthetics, obstetrics, and mental health, providing the community with the services they need locally.
“This pandemic highlights the need to deliver highly skilled services close to home rather than building health systems based on rural patients being forced to travel to cities for care or relying on specialists to travel from cities to do locums.
“An RG workforce will help stem the current critical shortage of rural general practice services and address the shortage of rural specialist services.
“We are proud to be delivering this new RG training program which is not only the first of its kind in Australia, but also the world,” Dr McPhee adds.
The nationally funded RG Training Program was announced by the Federal Government in February and includes funding to support 100 ACRRM training places.
“The pandemic is also boosting our commitment to have Rural Generalist Medicine recognised as a specialised field within the specialty of General Practice,” Dr McPhee continues.
“Rural Generalist Medicine is a well-established model which will address the inequitable standard of healthcare our rural and regional communities currently live with, and it will be a great step forward in acknowledging the breadth of skills and knowledge of general practitioners who care for those communities.
“ACRRM has long advocated for RG recognition.
“The nationally-funded RG Training Program is a critical part of the National Rural Generalist Pathway implementation and will provide our doctors of the future with an exciting and rewarding career path that will provide boundless opportunities across the nation.
“It will support a sustainable long-term rural health workforce training environment and provide a rural workforce that will meet the specific healthcare needs of our rural and remote communities.”