Rural Health West has completed a consultancy to determine the feasibility of establishing a Rural Generalist Pathway in Western Australia. The consultancy was funded by the Western Australian Department of Health to 30 September 2007.
A Reference Group was established whose role was to advise, recommend and provide input into the proposed model. Representation on the group was as follows:
- Rural Health West
- Western Australian Country Health Service (WACHS)
- Department of Health Western Australia (DoHWA)
- Western Australian General Practice Education and Training Ltd (WAGPET)
- Rural Clinical School, Western Australia (RCSWA)
- Post Graduate Medical Council, Western Australia (PMCWA)
- Australian College of Remote and Rural Medicine (ACRRM)
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
- Community Residency Coordinator
- Junior Doctor.
An audit was undertaken to review existing and potential needs which would shape the training model for local regions.
Some of outcomes from the audit identified:
- Low entry rates into general procedural medicine and the need to establish a rural generalist pathway based in regional centres.
- The decline in the rural procedural workforce will accelerate with the ageing of the workforce. Moreover, fewer graduates are choosing to practise procedural medicine.
- In WA there is unanimous support for the RCS model which has the basic infrastructure in most of the major rural centres and provides local training.
- Some regional centres in WA are well placed to accept supernumerary procedural training placements. There is the volume of work to maintain good exposure for trainees in obtaining their core training and advanced rural skills program and experienced GP proceduralists and specialists who are willing to teach.
The model for the Rural Generalist Pathway in Western Australia needs to be promoted, responsive, resourced and marketed appropriately. It will be designed for maximum flexibility of entry points to accommodate a variety of medical backgrounds and experiences but also enable an exit into other training programs.
It is proposed to commence the Rural Generalist Pathway in 2009 with development of the training pathway and sites to occur in 2008.
For more information click here, email Vivienne Duggin, or telephone (08) 6389 4500.