About Us
Who we are
Advocacy
Research and policy
SLOs
Contact Us

Chair Reports - 2024

GPSA’s Chair, Dr Srishti Dutta, is actively involved in the stakeholder engagement and broad advocacy work GPSA is engaged in on behalf of the GPSA community.

Her monthly Chair Reports include updates on a range of topics discussed at the many tables at which GPSA now has a seat. Below you can access all of the Chair Reports for 2024 to date, including one penned by Deputy Chair, Dr Frank Maldari, in January:

Do you have something you'd like us to advocate for on your behalf?
Contact us

OUR PUBLICATIONS

Date reviewed: 31 October 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

Out and about – May 2024

Living out of a suitcase through May!

May for our CEO started with a pleasant if lengthy drive to the South Australian Riverlands for the National SEM Conference, where she had the opportunity to speak with supervisors and practice owners participating in the SEM developed for the Renmark and Berri communities.

What struck her most was the value of co-design in these place-based solutions. The essential ingredients might be summarised as flexibility, mutual respect, and a willingness to investigate and respond proactively to the needs of all stakeholders – trainees, supervisors, practices, state-run health services and the community members they serve. SEM is definitely not a one-size-fits-all concept, and has limited application based on geographical and demographic context; but for certain rural locations in which GPs juggle their workload across both hospital and practice settings, it offers a means to improve and perpetuate equitable primary health care options for the community.

On her trip home from Berri, Carla was invited to attend a GP Supervisor Networking Dinner in Swan Hill. Hosted by Murray PHN, this fun night at One28 Doors gave an enthusiastic group of supervisors the chance to discuss what they most enjoy about their supervision role, and their concerns about retaining registrars in regional and rural locations.

The next road trip followed shortly after the first, seeing Carla head to another very pretty town that should by rights be teeming with GPs! This year’s Rural Doctors Association of Victoria (RDAV) Conference was held in Mildura, where a lot of the discussions were again around retaining junior doctors to the end of and following their vocational training.

The Hon. Anne Webster, Federal Member for Mallee and Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health – coincidentally the wife of possibly the best known Mildura GP in living history, recently-retired Dr Phillip Webster – spoke passionately about this issue at the conference dinner where she witnessed the presentation of the RDAV Lifetime Membership Award to Dr Sue Harrison OAM… by none other than Sue’s daughter, Emergency Department Clinical Lead at Swan Hill District Health, Dr Emily Harrison (FACRRM).

Closing out the month, Carla travelled to Cairns for the RACGP Practice Owners Conference with GPSA COO Leonie Chamberlain and Chair Dr Srishti Dutta. In addition to all that Srishti covered in the June Chair Report, GPSA held a lively networking night for practice managers; Leonie visited the Wuchopperen Health Service managed by the lovely Susanne Raistrick; the GPSA booth was never empty; and Srishti, Carla and other sector partners were in constant networking mode. What you can’t tell from the conference photos is just how busy the GPSA team was talking with practice owners and supervisors about the NTCER, and hearing about the many innovations our members have developed to maintain and expand their team’s focus on a high quality learning culture. Truly inspirational.

Return to E-Newsletter

Date reviewed: 31 May 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

“We really are building the future of general practice”
Dr Candice Baker, GP Supervisor and GPSA Board Director

Candice obtained fellowship as an Australian General Practitioner in 2015, then as a Canadian Family Physician in 2019. She has worked at a training practice in regional Victoria for 10 years.

This is where the seeds of passion for medical education were sown through supervision of medical students and registrars before becoming an accredited supervisor early in 2022.

How have you arrived at your GPSA role?
“I have a desire to contribute within general practice supervision, to try to ignite some change, and help support the profession.

“That desire has been born out of the environment that I trained in and therefore the same sort of environment that I want to create and promote in terms of general practice supervision. It stems back to when I did my training and that amazing environment, surrounded by my supervisors, and a culture of teaching and learning: where everyone was a teacher and a learner at the same time. I identified with these colleagues, and they were pivotal in shaping my desire to follow their lead.

“I identified with these colleagues, and they were pivotal in shaping my desire to follow their lead”

“With regards to my role on the GPSA Board specifically, I think that’s probably a combination of my love of teaching with a hint of opportunity and a whole lot of luck – falling into things at the right time and the right place. Dr Madhu Tamilarasan, a GP Supervisor and former GPSA Director and friend, motivated me to engage actively with GPSA. Despite my hesitation about my suitability for the Board, Madhu encouraged me to throw my hat in the ring. She was a great inspiration to me.”

How have your various roles prepared you for your work with GPSA?
“The training environment I experienced enabled me to get involved in education in various forms. As a 2nd year registrar, I was involved in supervising medical students and I was also a Registrar Medical educator (RME) with my Victorian RTO.

“I also work for Monash University School of Rural Health and assist in the running of their general practice program for their Year 4 students. These roles were quite complementary to general practice supervision and allowed me to understand the breadth of supervision, and in fact, what it means to be a supervisor.

“And I’m currently a Supervisor Liaison Officer (SLO) which is a complementary role to everything in terms of advocating and works nicely with my GPSA Board role.
“It all seems to be a very natural progression for me, and I have just gone where the path has taken me.”

Do you see opportunities for GPSA’s education products internationally?
“I think there are opportunities for GPSA to expand to specific international markets where the core knowledge is the same throughout. For example, in looking at Canada where I spent some time during Covid, there were no major differences to Australia in terms of primary health care.

“In terms of SCENARIO, GPSA’s phone application, I think it’s really helpful and could be applied in other health care settings. Particularly for new supervisors, who maybe just haven’t quite figured out exactly how they want to structure their teaching sessions, or whether they’re stuck for what to cover at a particular stage in their learner’s journey.

“This application offers a form of convenience and a certain spontaneity that can be helpful. SCENARIO can flush out streams of deficiencies or things that maybe the learner needs to focus a bit more on. For example, was their respiratory knowledge as good as their cardiology knowledge; are they not as good at communication versus legal concepts.

“I think there is huge potential for growth within different areas of specialization, whether that’s obstetrics or emergency. I can see it being used much more widely and I’ve certainly found it useful and a fun thing to add to our teaching sessions with my registrars.”

What challenges are presently of greatest concern in the realm of supervision for our members that you’re aware of?
“I have three issues when I speak to supervisors that are top of mind:

  1. The sustainability of supervision – in the sense of the current apprenticeship model in general practice and what that looks like into the future.
  2. Appreciation of supervision is a big concern and, in particular, how supervisors are viewed In the wider scheme of things. With the transition of GP training back to the colleges, I think that has led to some under appreciation and undervaluing of the supervisors on the ground. There has been lots of new work and new assessments being introduced with limited consultation on the ground about how that would work in practice.
  3. Thirdly, remuneration is always a hot topic. I think we’re all aware that GP supervisors give way more than what most people would at the hourly rate they get paid. There seems to be this constant idea that supervisors can just do more, and that’s okay. Can we create a sustainable, high quality general practitioner at the end of training, if we don’t nourish the people that are nourishing them? We wouldn’t expect to have a bountiful garden full of vegetables if we didn’t actually take care of the soil. I think supervisors are the soil that helps grow our future workforce.”
  “I think supervisors are the soil that helps grow our future workforce.”
 

What solutions do you see that we offer to our members? What are we doing to help?
“GPSA is striving to lead from the front. I think our presence is more visible and the organisation is more prominent compared to perhaps 3-5 years ago.

“I believe we’re doing a great job advocating for those at the coalface and that’s partly because the Board of Directors are supervisors – we are the people we represent. We’ve got a firsthand idea of what it’s like to be on the ground and doing supervision work. That puts us in an excellent position to be able to advocate for change and be heard. We are very good at listening to our members and making sure that we sort of get a seat at every table to talk about issues that are important to general practice supervision.

“I firmly believe you can’t effect change if you’re not actually involved in the conversation. From that perspective, it’s been a successful couple of years in terms of having a seat at each table and being able to do that.”

Message to fellow supervisors
“My main message to fellow supervisors is that we value you. A while ago I was told by a colleague at Monash, “we really value what you do”. I suddenly thought, no one’s ever really said that to me. As supervisors, we really don’t get told that we are valued for what we do. Now I make a concerted effort when I catch up with my local supervisors to tell them that we really value having them as part of the team. And if there’s anything that we can do to make life a bit easier for them, then tell us. Acknowledging their indispensable role in general practice training is crucial. Without supervision and the dedicated work of supervisors on the ground, training simply wouldn’t be possible. We really are building the future of general practice and GPs in Australia.

“We really are building the future of general practice and GPs in Australia.”

“Additionally, I really feel strongly about finding a way to further engage practices that are committed to education and training at a high level of quality. It’s important we come up with a set of standards for supervision that allow us to ensure that we are putting supervisors and registrars into supported practices, and that we know that trainees are going to get a good training experience. The GPCLE tool has a huge role to play in this work. It sets the standard of supervision and whether we’re meeting that bar as training organizations or training practices. This is an important focus over the next couple of years.”

Date reviewed: 24 April 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

Why get involved with GPSA? “Having lots of skin in the game,” says this high-flying GP

Dr Kate Manderson is a name associated broadly with Australian general practice and GP supervision yes, but also with aerospace medicine, corporate and clinical governance, advocacy and – above all else – family and community.

On the eve of the transition of GP training to the GP specialty Colleges, this experienced GP and practice principal decided it was time to contribute her vast skills and experience to ensuring quality and passion remained at the heart of clinical supervision for future GPs in-training.

So it was that this ADF-trained health professional, businesswoman, Principal Medical Officer of CASA, Senior Aviation Medical Officer of the  Royal Australian Navy, Graduate of the AICD, Medical Educator and past President and Chair of the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine (ASAM) came to be elected onto the Board of GPSA in October 2022.

Kate recently talked with our Communications Manager, Pauline Ingham, about her burning desire to get a better deal for Australian GP supervisors.

What do you think has brought you here to this role on the GPSA Board?

“After 25 years as a GP I have been inside the GP system for a long time and gained a lot of valuable experience.

“Like a lot of GPs, I have a lot of ‘skin in the game’, having worked as a GP, a Medical Educator and a Supervisor.

“I understand how it works, how it could be improved, and have seen some challenging times.”

Why GPSA?

“At a time when I couldn’t contribute to GP training at the coalface, I still wanted to contribute meaningfully.

“I saw the opportunity to use my experience and skills in clinical leadership and governance through the role on the GPSA Board… as a way to help our system, our supervisors and our trainees on a broader scale.”

She notes that she was encouraged and supported by colleagues who said, “Kate you can do this!” – and she decided the time was right.

“My experience in governance, company directorships and leadership came into play. Having an understanding of the importance of operating a viable and strong business, combined with my supervision experiences, enabled me to put myself forward and make a contribution to GPSA."

How have your various roles prepared you for your work with GPSA?

“My first role as a GP registrar prepared me by going through the system. I was privileged to train in Tasmania and on the whole had fabulous education, mentoring and training, working with pioneers and leaders who are still involved today. I learned from people who showed me how great it could be.

“My placement experience varied after that – some practices gave little support; however, it was still the early days of training, and often I was on my own. Some practices straddled the line between good and bad: offering great mentoring and supervision, but less structured education.

“So I had the opportunity to experience lots of different perspectives as a trainee as to what supervision looked like, could look like, and what it  actually should look like.”

How did that view of supervision you had as a trainee change when you started supervising?

“When I moved into the role as a Supervisor and had the opportunity to be on the other side of the table, I instantly realised how hard it can be to be a supervisor!

“I was so determined that there really is no excuse for being a poor supervisor, but the actual experience of doing the job for more than a decade, and having more than 50 trainees over the years, has led me to realise it’s not that simple at all.

“Supervisors deal with registrars of varying needs, and this requires a flexible system that can be very difficult to achieve.”

As a practice owner, what do you see as the challenges facing educating and training the next generation of GPs?

“I see two big challenges or barriers – adequate funding and adequate recognition.

“You want to be altruistic and you want to help somebody – vulnerable people and vulnerable communities – and you want to spend lots of time with patients. And that is beautiful, but you can’t do that if the practice closes because you can’t pay the wages.

“Let’s start with money, and we must talk about that. If your business goes bankrupt you can’t help anyone. It's a fundamental part of what I teach trainees, they have to understand the business of general practice."

So let’s talk about the money!

“It can seem unpleasant to raise, but thinking that money isn’t important is part of the reason we have ended up in this current situation.

“It is important – and there are some key barriers we need to address.

“To start with, the funding model of general practice is fit-for-purpose for 1975, but it is not fit-for-purpose for 2025, 2035, 2045… It hasn’t been fit-for-purpose for a very long time because everything has changed around us, just not this funding model. That is the biggest barrier.

“We are not funded as supervisors, and until that changes we will not have consistency in the quality of training placements… Which means appropriate funding is needed urgently for supervisors and training practices as well as the trainee.

“There is a vast difference between the funding for hospital-based supervisors with payment built into their contracts, and how GP supervisors do it: GP supervisors take a pay cut to teach!”

Any other barriers you’d like knocked down?

“The culture of general practice.

“The idea of #justagp – ‘Are you a specialist or just a GP?’ – is problematic.

“We need something much more powerful in recognition of the specialty of general practice.”

“I believe we must bring back the PGPPP so that everybody gets a turn in general practice – so they understand what it’s about.

“I also strongly believe that we need a name change, because everyone uses ‘GP’ whether they should or shouldn’t.”

“We need to identify our unique skill set, it’s got to be marketed, again back to the finances... We pay equivalently, we recognise the specialty equivalently, and everyone understands what the specialty does."

What challenges are presently of greatest concern in the realm of supervision for our members?

“My sense is that the biggest concern is ‘who’s going to take over when I am done?’

“We have members who are passionate, dedicated and committed in that role. And they are altruistic, self sacrificing, they are doing it without any money, without any recognition, because they want to and they think it’s important.

“Part of it is they are there for the future of the profession, part of it is they are there for the future of their practice. They are thinking, ‘If I am not supervising, we can’t get trainees; if we can’t get trainees, we can’t get succession planning and workforce’ and so on.

“I am living that experience right now. I am not currently supervising registrars in my practice so this equates to empty consulting rooms in my practice.

“People might say if we can’t get registrars then why not get Fellows. That is proving almost impossible in the current climate.” 

We need more women in supervision. How would you encourage women to pursue roles as supervisors? 

“Firstly, GPSA’s current Women in Supervision research is important because if it doesn’t get measured it doesn’t get fixed.

“Data is key and can be used strategically. Commonwealth Departments respond well to data, and politicians respond to real life stories. So you have to tackle any issues with submissions and data.

“With regards encouraging more women into supervision, I’ve already said that supervision is altruistic – you give of your time and your money. Women already have less money and less time, and we are asking them to have even less money and even less time. We have to fix that!

“Another factor is that historically women carry the greater burden of child care. If we have more, better, financially accessible child care for women in primary care, women would do more in primary care.

“If GPSA found a way to subsidise women volunteering to supervise with a cleaner? We’d be inundated! Essentially, childcare and financial recognition are the two things I think will get more women into supervision.”

“If we can adequately remunerate or financially recognise supervision overall, then this will no longer be yet another cut to women who are already being cut by the financial disparity we continue to endure. This would benefit everyone - not just women of course, but it would proportionately benefit women even more.”

What would you like to say to Australia’s supervisors?

“My message to Australian supervisors is to hang in there!

“You are special, you are doing amazing things. GPSA understands this and we’ve got your back. We’re going to do everything we can to make it better for you, so please hang in there while we do that.

“I’d also like to send a message to our trainees, our early Fellows and our new supervisors, and that is to please show up, please don’t expect everyone else to do it. It is a champion team, so show up, be brave, put yourselves out there.

“I urge you to support the industry leaders who are saying GPs have to charge privately and we have to charge our worth to make it so that we can afford to supervise in practices. Be brave, be there, show up and take it on!

“I am taken back to my time in the Navy when the mantra in an emergency or attack was to never leave the ship – the three step approach was ‘Fight, Move, Float’ and ‘we do not abandon ship!’

“So I say to my colleagues: we value you, we need you, don’t abandon the ship!”

Date reviewed: 28 March 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

GPSA Chair Report – June 2023

Participating, Networking, Driving Change

2023 is turning into a very big year for GPSA. We continue to have a seat at the table in a wide variety of stakeholder meetings, and the conference year kicked off for us last month with the RACGP Practice Owners National Conference (PONC) in Adelaide, followed quickly by the GPME Conference in Sydney.
 
PONC saw a huge number of conversations between Carla (CEO), Leonie (COO) and myself with Supervisors and potential Supervisors at the GPSA booth. While there were many inspiring stories, and a great deal of laughter, this face-to-face event gave many members the chance to share concerns and grievances we welcomed in equal measure. Many potential Supervisors expressed frustration that RACGP is refusing to induct new training practices due to the supply/demand issue with more Supervisors than Registrars in the current market. We have been petitioning RACGP on your behalf to see if and when this situation is going to change, but with no real answers as yet we have been looking to other options to harness a passion for training even if outside AGPT (more on this in coming months).
 
The overwhelming issue concerning Practice Owners at PONC was Payroll Tax. As you all know, the concept of State Revenue Offices (SROs) charging Payroll Tax on payments that independent Practitioners earn through work in General Practices has been raised often and loudly. If implemented, this would spell the death knell for a significant number of General Practices across Australia. Should the State Governments be allowed to trim their percentage off the top of every grant that is made to General Practice, a lot of Commonwealth’s changes to Medicare will be put under threat. The RACGP is well aware of this and continue with their advocacy in this space. GPSA also speaks regularly with the Commonwealth and advocates in our own way for this to be sorted, having shared your responses to our rapid survey with AMAQ and RACGP at the start of the year with great effect in the stay of execution on the Queensland SRO ruling. Payroll Tax is also treated as a deduction at the end of the financial year, effectively reducing the ATO’s revenue… I am not sure the Commonwealth will want to lose on their tax income any more than they will want to watch primary healthcare disintegrate beneath this added burden.
 
The other issue affecting Supervisors is that following the Transition we have moved to a new nationally-homogenised “open market” process with Registrars.  Even though this is can be effective in a mature, settled market, it is currently creating issues for those not used to this system, with Registrars applying for Training Practices close to where they live for their first terms, unaware that not all General Practices are created equal. Some Practices are better suited to the training demands of GPT1 and GPT2 Registrars than others: without some guidance the Registrar may end up in a Practice that can’t support them with the quality of experience they expect, potentially leading to attrition from the training program. The stories are coming in thick and fast – in one case, a Practice had 1 spot for a Registrar and received 10 applicants; in another, a Registrar applied to 16 Practices. This creates a lot of unnecessary work for both Registrars and Supervisors and ultimately ends up with more than one party feeling cheated. What do you think would work best? A hybrid model of Registrar allocations? Join in the discussion in the Supervisor, Practice Owner and Practice Manager groups on our Community Platform and share your opinions and ideas so we can flag these with the Colleges to drive the best outcome for all.
 
Don’t forget the 2023.2 Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and Key Feature Problem (KFP) exams will now be delivered in a paper-based format, as announced by the RACGP on Tuesday 30th May. There is no change to the schedule or location of the Fellowship exams, but after consistent and rigorous testingrevealed an issue that could impact candidates’ exams, this decision was made to ensure that every candidate has a seamless experience on exam day. 
 
Anyway, as the end of 2023.1 rapidly approaches, hopefully Supervision is going well and we are all steering excellent Registrars toward rewarding careers in General Practice / Rural Generalism! 

Date reviewed: 05 June 2023

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

GPSA Chair Report – May 2023

It just gets busier!
Hi all, Carla and I have been very busy again since my pre-Easter report, but all the hard work is definitely paying off!

As mentioned in the previous few months, we have been meeting with various states and territories to insert the argument for quality supervision into their individual plans for Single Employer Model (SEM) pilots. With every jurisdiction doing things differently, we continue to have a particular affinity with the Tasmanian model, which is very strongly rooted in the goal of supporting the private model of general practice over increasing their numbers of hospital employees.

The Tasmanian team is even considering our preferred model, where the registrar might complete GPT1-2 (or RG equivalent) under the state Single Employer then transition to practice employment governed by the NTCER, allowing access to earnings against billings only when they have had time to acclimatise to the general practice environment and gained an understanding of how to bill correctly, etc. We have also floated this option by a number of sector stakeholders, government representatives from NT, WA and Queensland, and have started working with ACRRM to explore potential for other options to give senior RG registrars greater flexibility than traditional practice-based employment allows at the tail end of their training.

What seems key at present is that alternate models of registrar employment are coming, and we need to be open to ideas that may well change what we have built our business models around as training practice owners. Not all change is detrimental… But we are working very very hard to ensure that we as a community of practice have visibility over and a prominent voice in any decisions leading to change for our sector.

I implore you to please maximise the opportunities we offer for you to have a say in all that’s happening around us in the GP training landscape. Activate your free membership to the GPSA Community Platform and join a Community Group (or 10)! Take a few minutes to complete the National Supervision Survey, which feeds into our work on Advisory Councils for the Workforce Planning and Prioritisation organisations across the country as well as guiding our research, education and advocacy priorities. It is so important that we all contribute to the findings of this important survey. You can read more about this here or contact our Director of Research & Policy, Dr Samia Toukhsati, with any queries here.

GPSA is committed to supporting the people and businesses that underpin the future of primary healthcare in this country. We are a sector conduit, a driver of innovation and quality, and an advocate for respect and recognition for this community. GPSA is not a group of Board members or the small team of employees who deliver educational interventions and resources, members supports, research and policy. GPSA is the community we serve… So don’t be a stranger!

Date reviewed: 27 April 2023

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

How is it already April?!

It might not make great material for a Netflix doco, but a day in the life of the GPSA Chair is certainly proving far from dull as Carla and I navigate all the meetings with and requests from members and sector stakeholders! And this is only a couple of months into the training year!

Our accomplishments are starting to stack up though, making it all worthwhile…

GPSA’s Community Platform
On 19th March we started inviting our members to join the new community platform tied to the GPSA website, where we still offer all 1,000+ resources free and open-access. This new concept is designed to enable our members to more readily connect with one another, with us, and ultimately with representatives of the Department, Colleges and other sector stakeholders. This has been a really quiet “soft” launch as the last thing we want to do is overwhelm anyone with so many changes afoot through the Transition, especially in terms of IT systems. But hats off to our practice manager members, who have jumped in and started helping one another develop strategies and solutions by creating discussions under their private community Discussion tab. Now the challenge is on for our supervisor and practice owner colleagues!
If you haven’t activated your account already, it’s really easy to log in, join one or more Community Groups, and virtually step outside the consulting room for a few moments: if only to reduce the feeling of isolation that comes with our profession.

2023 National Survey
On the topic of our wellbeing, I note that this year’s National Survey is being launched on Thursday 6th April, and will include some follow-up to last year’s survey which produced this report summarising our perspectives on wellbeing and selfcare. Importantly, this annual survey will give you a chance to share your individual reflections on the new training regime and what it will take to make this a thriving sector into the future. Please make the most of this opportunity as we really are in a position to influence change with your participation – noting the data we collect from this questionnaire is used for our advocacy work and representation on advisory committees such as for the various Workforce Planning and Prioritisation (WPP) organisations. AND you can be credited for an hour of CPD as an added bonus!

New branding, new identity
The new GPSA logo has been developed and will now start to be rolled out across our various touchpoints – website, emails, social media etc.. The new icon is indicative of our evolution from GP Supervisors Australia to GP Supervision Australia, really reflecting what we do and the partnership between the Supervising Practices, Supervisors, Practice Managers and the GP Registrars that we are collectively supporting. When asked “who” GPSA is, traditionally we would have pointed to the voluntary Board of Directors at the top of the triangle, beneath us the small team (<4FTE) of employees, and at the bottom the community we represent. By contrast, today we refer to GPSA as the community first and foremost, with the team supporting you from below, and the Board beneath them as the cornerstone of the organisation, with our new branding symbolising this new identity especially as it relates to whole-of-practice scaffolding of the learner / trainee, and flattening of the hierarchy in supervision.

CPD made easy
I hope that you are all attending our Webinars, there are so many great topics being covered and wonderful hints for how to work with your Registrars. Pearls of wisdom keep getting dropped by presenters and participants. AND, now we are approved CPD providers for RACGP (soon ACRRM also), we can automatically add a CPD hour to your CPD Home account when you attend these (generally webinars are approved for Educational Activity) and an additional hour for Reviewing Performance when you go on to complete the post-webinar activity we now offer. The team is currently working on converting recordings of past webinars and other static educational resources on the website into online modules to help increase CPD opportunities for you. All free for our members: so be sure to make use of this!

GPSA keeping your voice heard out there
We have regular meetings with RACGP and ACRRM regarding their training developments and both Colleges are very supportive of our role in assisting with this. Member feedback has been that the Transition has predominantly gone smoothly; but, as always, there have been a few hiccups along the way. Mostly these are small and fairly easily resolved. We also meet regularly with GPRA, continuing to work together to enhance the experience of Registrars and Supervisors, and with the Government at different levels and in different groups. I believe that the respect that we have earned with all our engagement has been well worthwhile. We continue to advocate for all our members at all levels and are being listened to.
One space that we are working hard to involve our community in is the Single Employer Model pilots being rolled out across Australia. This is a departure from how GP Registrars have been employed in the past, mainly as a solution for the rural sector, so we are keen to understand and help shape these models in order to drive  the best outcomes possible for all Registrars (our future workforce!) and with minimal unintended consequences. These pilots will look different across the country, but quality of training must remain paramount: we will keep pushing the Quality barrow always. A quick note that any Tasmanian Practice Owners / Practice Managers or Supervisors are invited to join the private group we have created on the community platform called “Tasmania’s SEM”, to which we have given members of the team running the Tasmanian pilot access so they can answer any questions you may have as potential participants in their trial.

Well, all the best from me and enjoy your Easter, but just remember, not too many Easter Eggs!!

Kevin

 

Date reviewed: 15 April 2023

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.
For convenience, you can read through this resource here, or use the pdf tools at the top of the document to download and / or print the file.

Date reviewed: 24 August 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

RACGP 5th Edition Standards for General Practice

For convenience, you can read through this resource here, or use the pdf tools at the top of the document to download and / or print the file.

Date reviewed: 02 March 2023

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.

The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report has been described as outlining “a vision for Australia’s primary care system of the future”, recommending “significant changes to how primary care is funded and delivered to enable high quality, integrated and person-centred care for all Australians”.

Date reviewed: 24 August 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

This website uses cookies. Read our privacy policy.