Work has started on the formal application to have Rural Generalist Medicine recognised as a specialised field within the specialty of General Practice.
Leaders of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the National Rural Health Commissioner gathered at a Joint College Taskforce meeting this week to begin the application process.
ACRRM President Dr Ewen McPhee says the Colleges have agreed to combine their strengths to achieve Rural Generalist recognition and address the health care needs of rural and remote communities.
“The National Rural Generalist Taskforce consultation process has had great success with a commitment by the Commonwealth Government to invest $62.2M over four years in this year’s Federal Budget,” Dr McPhee says.
RACGP Vice President and Chair of the Rural Council Dr Ayman Shenouda says: “Recognition is a vital step forward for the National Rural Generalist pathway that is offered by both colleges to support rural doctors to address current and future health care needs of rural and remote communities.
“The process for attaining recognition is rigorous. “It involves regulatory hurdles and an extensive step-by-step approach, including consultation with the Medical Board of Australia (MBA), the Australian Medical Council (AMC), the Office of Best Practice Regulation, and the Council for Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council,” Dr McPhee says.
“Both Colleges share the purpose to provide Australians with equitable access to high-quality healthcare and we recognise rural and remote communities have specific requirements which will be addressed by the implementation of the National Rural Generalist Pathway.”
The two Colleges agree it is important the alliance continues.
“For years, the Colleges of General Practice have supported rural doctors to develop skills to meet the needs of their communities,” Dr Shenouda adds.
“Time has come for those skills to be recognised. Australians living in rural and regional communities have been left without equitable healthcare for too long and both Colleges recognise Rural Generalist Medicine is a well-established model of care, practiced by many general practitioners in rural and remote areas across Australia.
“These doctors are broadly skilled to enable them to address important gaps in rural services such as obstetrics, mental health, palliative care, and emergency care. They are often forced to navigate complex and often conflicting training, and credentialing and employment arrangements that are inconsistent across jurisdictions and health services,” Dr Shenouda says.
National Rural Health Commissioner, Prof Paul Worley confirms national recognition will address these complexities and inconsistencies and signal a clear and compelling career path to this unique model of rural medical practice.
The Joint College Taskforce is looking forward to an opportunity to brief the government on the joint application for recognition and to guiding the implementation of the new National Rural Generalist Program.
ENDS
Rural Generalist Medicine Definition:
A Rural Generalist (RG) is a medical practitioner who is trained to meet the specific current and future health care needs of Australian rural and remote communities, in a sustainable and cost-effective way, by providing both comprehensive general practice and emergency care, and required components of other medical specialist care in hospital and community settings as part of a rural healthcare team.