Nick arrived in Australia from the UK in 1991; 5 years later he gained citizenship during his medical studies at the University of Adelaide. In his own words, “this saved me from much nonsense once I graduated, but still no unrestricted provider number upon finishing internship in Perth/Kalgoorlie. I returned to Adelaide, worked in public and private, in hours and out of hours, city and country: public O&G, paediatrics, Gynae Oncology, and ED, the prison system, private ED, ICU, and CCU, medical officer for Boxing SA and Clipsal 500, and worked extensively for people with intellectual disability.”
Nick locumed in rural General Practice as well as a home visiting doctor service. He liked Rural General Practice so much, and was mentored so well, that it led to General Practice training, Fellowship, Practice Ownership, Supervising and Examining, and now coaching, teaching, and owning a well regarded and successful urban General Practice – PartridgeGP in Glenelg.
I strongly believe that General Practice is the most efficient and excellent part of the Australian health system. It is probably the greatest value-add the Australian health system has for Australians and therefore strong, vibrant, and thriving Australian General Practice is a public good. I want to support and boost this whenever and however possible and I believe being part of the GPTA Ltd Board will let me do this. It is also a private good – I think General Practice is an amazing career for medical graduates and our best and brightest deserve the opportunity to partake of this, which they will be more disposed to do if it is promoted and nurtured. Again, I want to support and boost this whenever and however possible and I believe being part of the GPTA Ltd Board will let me do this.
I have been a practicing General Practitioner since 2001 and achieved my specialist Fellowship (FRACGP) in 2007. Since then I have owned and run several successful General Practices as well as being a supervisor and examiner of RACGP registrars and a supervisor and educator of Flinders and James Cook University Medical Students. I have been active in medical groups and committees online and in person including: Business for Doctors, Chairman, Southern Regional GP Council, Member, Southern Adelaide Local Regional Network Clinical Council, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Co Administrator on GPs Down Under, Member, AMA SA Committee of General Practice, and Member, Australian General Practice Association. I am also an active business networker outside of medicine and have been a member of a business referral and networking group in Adelaide for 3 years (and President of the group for 18 months of that).
These positions have given me experience with governance, communication, commercial issues, and real world solutions which I am very keen to use to support the GPSA community.
Firstly, as a board member, I will be aware of and adhere to the GPSA Board Member responsibilities as set out in the document on the 2023 AGM page. Secondly, I will be aware of the tensions between a membership organisation (where the voices of each and every member must be heard and recognised) and a national peak which must be widely accepted as a legitimate voice for GP training. My experience with other membership organisations that have aspired to national peak status should help with this. Thirdly, I look forward to using my skills and experience to serve the board as a committee member for particular topics (for example the NTCER or the commercial aspects of GP training and parity with hospital training) and for advocacy with government. I also feel my communication skills will help with sharing information to our members in a way where they will feel well represented.
Date reviewed: 27 October 2023
GPTA Ltd t/as GP Supervision Australia
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Level 40/140 William Street Melbourne Vic 3000
admin@gpsa.org.au