Where can FACRRM take you?

You may be a medical student, resident/intern mulling over which speciality to choose. Or perhaps you are an ACRRM registrar currently training to Fellowship and wondering what life looks like after you gain your Fellowship of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (FACRRM)? Luckily, there are abundant career opportunities FACRRM can provide you post training. 

What sets the ACRRM program apart is you can choose your own adventure pursue your interest through Advanced Specialised Training (AST). The College has 12 AST disciplines to choose from including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, anaesthesia, emergency medicine, mental health, obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics, surgery and more. This is where you can really hone your skills in the area you are most passionate about. 

There are also many opportunities FACRRM can explore beyond the direct clinical environment, including medical administration. This is an ideal career avenue for doctors with strong skills in leadership, decision making and relationship building. Roles in this field include medical super intendent level and clinical directors where the focus is on clinical governance, performance management, clinical incident reviews, recruitment and administration.

For those with pastural care qualities or who gravitate toward coaching and mentoring, opportunities exist as a Medical Educator (ME) and/or supervisor with a training focus, where you can assist registrars with their Fellowship journey, be involved in training plan development, look at registrar learning needs and develop study plans. You can work on developing education content to support registrars through their learning and assessment. You can also gain voluntary or renumerated positions in workshop delivery as a course instructor, which is also really great for helping maintain your own skills. Senior lecturer opportunities in universities in rural medicine are also abundant for highly sought after FACRRMs. 

Other career avenues where you plan an important role in shaping the landscape of healthcare for rural and remote people include advocacy and policy development through committee and board membership. 

You do not have to limit yourself to just one post-Fellowship career avenue either. Personally, my roles in the College and in the community are diverse. As a lead ME for the College, I work on the development of the Independent Pathway (IP) education program, soon to be become the National Education Program. I deliver content at the IP workshops, support registrars in training with ME sessions and work with registrars one-on-one within Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) exam Focused Assessment Support Program– which is a particular interest of mine.

In the community, I work as a Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at the Laidley Hospital providing inpatient and emergency services to the community of the Lockyer Valley. I've also found myself in positions of leadership, including the Queensland Rural and Remote Clinical Network Co-Chair, and have begun studying complex systems theory and healthcare imrpovement science through a Healthcare Improvement Fellowship with CEQ.  I love the variety and stimulation these varying roles provide me.

For me, my career in the ME space is incredibly rewarding. Those moments at the Rural Medicine Australia conference when you watch your registrars receive their Fellowship certificate in front of their family and friends and knowing the role you played in that moment is deeply fulfilling. I believe it is a privilege being an educator. You learn so much from teaching and guiding registrars and I find it inspirational to help my colleagues achieve their own potential. 

It’s important to remember that these next career steps aren’t in the distant future. If you’ve recently Fellowed or are about to Fellow, by considering roles you can play in the College, you will be able to draw on your unique learning perspective and provide value through experience as a recent registrar.  If you see these opportunities arise, just go for it. You know more than you think and the rewards outweigh the effort. You never know what doors will open for you if you just go for it.

By FACRRM Dr Emily Moody.

Read more from Dr Moody here.