Tasmanian Rural Generalist Pathway Newsletter Edition 29 (June-July 2020)

Tasmanian Rural Generalist Program

In This Edition:

  • Meet Jacqueline Lim - Future Rural Generalist
  • New Coordination Unit
  • Advanced/Additional Skills training for 2021
  • New National Rural Health Commissioner
  • AGPT second intake
  • Tasmanian Rural Health Conference 2021

From the Director

Welcome to the latest edition of the TRGP newsletter.

Despite all the disruptions to personal and professional life from COVID-19, Rural Generalist planning, education, training, and assessment have all continued behind the scenes.  Advertising and recruiting for 2021 intern and RMO positions is underway and registrar positions will be advertised shortly.  If you are thinking of pursuing a career in Rural Generalist medicine or needing assistance to plan the next steps of your RG career, please don’t hesitate to contact Peter Arvier or Sharee Taylor in the  RG office via email rural.pathways@health.tas.gov.au

2021 will also bring some significant changes that give a strong reassurance that both locally and nationally, the Rural Generalist Pathway will go from strength to strength – a new National Rural Health Commissioner to follow on from the great work done by Professor Paul Worley; a new funding agreement to support the TRGP over the next 3-4 years; and strong support in the North West for RG training positions.

Now that we can travel more easily, I look forward to catching up with many of you in the second half of 2020 and hopefully will see you all at the Tasmanian Rural Health Conference in Burnie in 2021!

Kind regards

Peter Arvier

Director, Rural Pathways

Future Rural Generalist – Dr Jacqueline Lim

Hi, my name is Jacqueline Lim, I’m currently an RMO at the Launceston General Hospital. I grew up in Hong Kong but decided to embrace the relative unknown and move to Tasmania for medical school. Probably due to spending my formative years in a bustling city, and associating green open spaces with holidays, I was drawn to the lack of traffic and sea views of the rural clinical school during our first year rural week. So it was an easy decision to spend my last two years in Burnie at the RCS, and then to complete intern year at the North West Regional Hospital. During my time in Burnie I was fortunate enough to rotate to Queenstown both as a medical student and intern where I was inspired by wonderful rural generalist mentors and their mastery of managing diverse presentations within general practice and ED. Seeking more varied and rural experiences, I spent last year at the Royal Darwin Hospital, including a three month rotation to Katherine District Hospital in ED. I cannot recommend spending time in NT more highly. I am hoping to continue my training in Tasmania and to eventually gain a range of general practice and procedural skills to be able to give back to this welcoming island state.

Setting up the new Coordination Unit

Many of you would already be aware that the funding for the activities of the TRGP under the National Partnership Agreement concludes during 2020.  To follow on from that, we have been successful in receiving Australian Government funding for the second half of 2020 to establish a Coordination Unit to develop the support structure and organisational activities as we head towards the National Rural Generalist Pathway.  The work over the next six months will inform the next stage of the Tasmanian Rural Generalist Pathway.

Important to the work that needs to be done is the appointment of Naomi van den Hoff as the Project and Policy Coordinator (see below).  Naomi will be based in Hobart but will work closely with the rest of the RG team based in the North West.

The first step in this process is a review of the governance structure of the TRGP to ensure that it reflects the needs of Tasmanian RG training and the communities they serve.  Naomi is already meeting with the various stakeholders around Tasmania to get feedback on the effectiveness and relevance of the existing RG Coordinating Council, as well as views on what changes could be of value moving towards the National Rural Generalist Pathway. If you wish to make comment on this governance review, please contact Naomi at naomi.van.den.hoff@health.tas.gov.au.

Meet Naomi van den Hoff – Project and Policy Coordinator for the TRGP

I am really pleased to have the opportunity to undertake the role of Project and Policy Coordinator for the Tasmanian Rural Generalist Pathway Coordination Unit. I spent the first 12 years of my childhood in an outer regional town in Southern Tasmania. My interest in rural health stems not only from this, but also my background in health promotion and public health. I hope to bring to this role experience in program development, project management, stakeholder engagement and commonwealth-state relations. As well as, my passion for health equity and the health system.

I look forward to collaborating with a range of stakeholders on establishing Tasmania’s Coordination Unit and the ongoing development of Tasmania’s Rural Generalist Pathway.

Additional/Advanced Skills positions for 2021 in the North West

Opportunities exist at the North West Regional Hospital/THS North West in 2021 for Advanced Skills Training in

  • Adult Internal Medicine
  • Mental Health
  • Palliative Care
  • Emergency Medicine

These positions are at registrar level and suitable for 12 months Additional/Advanced Skills or combined with other Advanced or Extended Skills to meet College requirements for RG training.

Doctors interested in these positions would need to be on, or eligible for a recognised ACRRM or RACGP RG pathway.

Formal applications will be available soon through the usual THS recruitment advertising at Tasmanian Jobs website

For further information contact Dr Peter Arvier, Director of Rural Pathways at email peter.arvier@health.tas.gov.au

New National Rural Health Commissioner

Professor Paul Worley has now finished his appointment as the inaugural National Rural Health Commissioner having laid the foundations for the National Rural Generalist Pathway. Taking over from Prof Worley is Associate Professor Ruth Stewart.   Ruth has 30 years’ experience as a Rural Generalist having worked in rural Victoria for many years and more recently on Thursday Island and the Torres Strait in far north Queensland.  Ruth is also the immediate past president of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. To find out more about our new National Rural Health Commissioner visit the Australian Government's Department of Health website.

Supporting the National Rural Health Commissioner will be two Deputy Commissioners to broaden the scope of the Commissioner to include Allied Health, Nursing and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.

AGPT second intake

The opening date for applications for Intake 2 of the 2021 Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program is Monday 10 August 2020.

AGPT is the fully Government-funded Fellowship training program. Education and support in Tasmania is delivered through the Regional Training Organisation – General Practice Training Tasmania (GPTT) with the support of the GP Colleges.

If you are interested in applying for AGPT, or express interest to receive up-to-date information, contact your College selection team for information and support at ACRRM or read AGPT Program Selection Guide.

Tasmanian Rural Health Conference 2021

Save the date for the weekend 20 – 21 March 2021 in Burnie for the next Tasmanian Rural Health Conference!

The program will broadly be along the same lines as was planned for 2020 but will also include an emphasis on the practice or rural medicine in a (hopefully) post COVID-19 world.

More information will be available on the TRGP website page as the planning progresses.

GP Telemedicine Training (1-2 August 2020)

GP telemedicine training provides a detailed, comprehensive, interactive two-day training program.  Delivered by experienced and trained telemedicine practitioners.  The program is clinically orientated and is an approved RACGP accredited activity with 40 CPD points.

For further information please visit Telemedicine Training website

Have you completed your FACRRM or FARGP in Tasmania?

Don’t forget to apply for your Tasmanian Rural Generalist Pathway Certificate of Completion

Current Vacancies

For THS Registrar Recruitment and other THS/DoH jobs, please visit Tasmanian Jobs website

For GP registrar placements through GPTT, refer to the GPTT placement process information

For GP vacancies, please visit HRPlus

Events – 2020/2021

Check out the Tasmanian Rural Generalist Pathway calendar for events of interest to rural practitioners.

Email rural.pathways@health.tas.gov.au to have your event included in the calendar.

This project is funded by the Australian Government through the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Health Services in Tasmania.