Training Facilitators & Career Opportunities
The Queensland Rural Medical Education (QRME) wishes, as its name suggests, to train doctors for rural and regional medical practice.
To achieve this end, QRME believes that the majority of training activities during terms should occur in practices located in rural and regional areas geographically, and imbued with the philosophies of independence, comprehensive care and resourcefulness seen in "typical" rural and regional practices and practitioners.
These philosophical issues are addressed within our practice and Supervisor selection and accreditation processes, which are comprehensinve. Geographical location of practices, while equally important, has some definition difficulties, as the RRMA classification (soon to be RA, Remoteness Area) does not always reflect a town's "medical" rurality/regionality accurately. Some practices in RRMA three and four areas, within an hour by road of a major teaching hospital, are denied admitting rights for their practitioners to local hospitals and have ambulance/retrieval services available in times short enough to lead to an erosion of the qualities of independence that we wish to foster.
QRME has taken a decision to place Registrars in January 2010 in accordance with the new RA system that officially takes effect at 1st July 2010. We have done so as to ensure that Registrars are not forced to change practice placements mid-year when the changes occur. Please refer to the AGPT Website for more information on imminent changes. 2010 Training Year changes FAQs
QRME believes that excellent training for both General Pathway and Rural Pathway Registrars can be provided in truly rural or regional practices and that by doing so the recruitment and retention rates for GPs in these areas will improve in the long term.
A recent large, Australia-wide survey of urban and rural GPs showed "longer rural postgraduate training is the most significant factor in increasing the likelihood of becoming a rural GP".1
QRME is committed to the design and delivery of a GP Training Program of the highest quality which aligns with the requirements outlined by RACGP and ACRRM and the GPET Quality Assurance Accreditation Framework for Training Providers.
1Feedback document Rural Background Study, Wilkinson D, Beilby J, Laven G. 2002 in press.