NSW Health is making it easier to for junior doctors to embark on a Rural Generalist career, providing different pathways for trainees to live and train in regional NSW, through a streamlined application process.

Applications for the 2025 clinical year are now open for trainees wanting to join the NSW Rural Generalist (Medical) Training Program (RGTP) through the Rural Generalist Single Employer Pathway (RGSEP), an Advanced Skills Training (AST) year– or both in 2025. RGSEP is an employment pathway for junior doctors seeking a career as a Rural Generalist.

Trainees on the pathway are employed for up to four years by a regional Local Health District (LHD), while completing training in both primary care and hospital settings.
Trainees are employed under the NSW Health Medical Officer Award – ensuring they receive the same pay and conditions as their hospital-trained counterparts. This allows trainees to retain, and continue to accrue, their NSW Health award entitlements including sick, study, annual, parental and long service leave.

Trainees wishing to enter through an AST position can specialise in Anaesthetics, Obstetrics, Palliative Medicine, Paediatrics, Mental Health, Emergency Medicine or Adult Internal Medicine (pilot program). This is a one-year contract, and trainees will commence or continue their GP training following completion of their AST year.
Suitable applicants can join RGSEP and complete their AST year in the 2025 clinical year. Trainees across both pathways (RGSEP or AST) can work seamlessly across the rural local health districts in NSW (including Far West, Western, Southern, Northern, Murrumbidgee, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Hunter New England and Mid North Coast).

To be eligible for a RGSEP or AST position, applicants must:

Apply now for the 2025 clinical year. Applications close on 6 August 2024.

GPs or GP practices who may wish to be involved in RGSEP can also register their interest.