Rural Generalists (RG) will now be formally recognised as a specialist medical field within general practice in the Australian healthcare system following an announcement by the Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler MP.
The decision follows six years of strong advocacy from the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) in conjunction with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), in partnership with governments, health agencies, and other organisations.
Rural Generalists will now complete a year of additional training in emergency medicine and a selection of disciplines needed in rural communities such as child health, mental health, surgery, and obstetrics.
Rural Generalists (RGs) will be encouraged to select disciplines that match both their interests and local needs, and RGs can apply to train in multiple disciplines.
Central General Practice’s Dr Will Twycross welcomed the announcement, stating the formalisation of Rural Generalist as a medical speciality reinforces a training pathway that general practitioners (GPs) have been following for some years.
“Every GP goes through extensive training to qualify, and the announcement of the Rural Generalist training pathway now recognises the extra training needed to be accredited to use special skills in the healthcare system,” Dr Twycross said.
“It’s a huge step forward and a terrific thing for young or aspiring GPs and for the Mansfield District Hospital in terms of keeping the skills we need coming through the ranks.
“It also further justifies the fight the community have supported to keep the hospital working at its current high level.”
Dr Twycross praised the calibre of local medical professionals with many of Mansfield’s GPs having undertaken extra training in fields such as Obstetrics, Anaesthetics or Emergency Medicine during their GP training.
“In some cases, these credentials have been undertaken interstate or overseas, with local doctors already putting those skills to use for the benefit of the hospital and the community more generally.
“Practical examples that our community is already familiar with at the hospital include our excellent maternity service, where doctors with these added skills work with our midwives to deliver babies, including when necessary with operative deliveries the assistance of our great theatre team and our GP anaesthetists.
“Other examples are the staffing of our casualty and the anaesthetics needed for our elective theatre lists in endoscopy, general surgery, gynaecology and urology.
“Some of our GPs also do locums in fields such as anaesthetics in other hospitals to support other rural communities,” he said.
“These are the sorts of skills that Mansfield is very fortunate to have available, and this formal announcement gives a clear training pathway for that to continue into the future, ensuring the strength of our hospital to grow and continue to provide services locally.”
The president of Royal Australian College of GPs Dr Michael Wright said making the rural generalism career pathway more visible also ensures RGs are appropriately remunerated for the vital work they do in rural and remote communities.
“The RACGP is dedicated to boosting rural general practice care so that all patients, regardless of their postcode, can access high-quality care," Dr Wright said.
“RGs add to the broad and substantial GP skill set with training in key disciplines that rural areas and hospitals need, so they are highly valued by their communities.
“The range of additional rural skills training available also offers junior doctors an appealing choice of disciplines, and we can see these add to medical students’ interest in general practice, which will help address rural workforce challenges.
“We must keep pushing forward to make sure we have the right funding incentives in place that allow them to take on additional training and additional skills, including working in local hospitals, and much more.
“RGs are the bedrock of towns nationwide, and it’s only fair that their profession is now distinctly recognised as a vital part of our healthcare system.”
The RACGP will now work with the Australian Medical Council (AMC) to determine a process where RG Fellowship qualifications can be accredited under this new specialist classification.