2013
year in review
Introduction from the Chairman and the CEO 2013 was about building upon our success and looking toward the future. In recent years NCGPT has focused firmly on growth as the Australian General Practice Training program has expanded rapidly both nationally and locally.
nodes - Ballina, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie - by our highly skilled and experienced medical education team. NCGPT delivered seven funded training programs including the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program and the Prevocational General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) which are To support this growth we launched a funded by the Commonwealth through number of projects in 2013 to ensure General Practice Education and Training that NCGPT continues to build upon our Limited (GPET). 2013 saw past successes, and that the implementation of the our organisation and our new GPET funded Overseas programs remain vibrant, Trained Doctor National contemporary and attractive Education and Training to prospective trainees program (OTDNET) which as we enter our second enabled us to provide decade of training. That’s education and support to important because we have overseas trained doctors an extraordinary number of working in the region. doctors who entrust their The OTDNET program training to us each year. In complements our existing John Langill, CEO 2013 we had 248 doctors Preparing Eligible Doctors in seven programs – an for Fellowship Program increase of nearly 30% over that is funded by the NSW 2012. Rural Doctors Network. This year we implemented Both of these programs new systems and fresh are an important source of approaches to the way we education and support for work. We established a overseas trained doctors. The Quality Review Committee new NSW Rural Generalist (QRC) and tasked its Training Program, funded members with implementing by the NSW Ministry of our Quality Plan. The work Dr Christopher Jambor, Chair Health, came into operation of the QRC complements in 2013. Out of the 15 funded places the work being progressed under our across NSW, three NCGPT GP registrars Business Process Review project through joined the program and undertook which we are reviewing and improving a training in Anaesthetics and Obstetrics & range of critical business processes. Gynaecology at the Tweed Base Hospital. We also developed a new online NCGPT looks forward to supporting this registrar-practice allocations tool which program in coming years. has streamlined our registrar placement Partnerships and collaboration processes and we continue to move more remained a focal point this year of our registrar administration processes and we worked closely with partner online. organisations including: North Coast In response to the GPET funded GP Medicare Local, the Many Rivers AMS E-learning Project (GEM), NCGPT formed Alliance, the Northern Rivers University an e-Learning Reference Group. This Centre for Rural Health (Lismore and group is preparing us to embrace online Murwillumbah), the UNSW Rural education by investigating best practice Clinical Schools (Coffs Harbour and in e-learning. During 2013 we also Port Macquarie), the two Local Health reviewed and revitalised our Teaching Districts, and our dedicated training Incentive Program (TIP). By the end of the practices. As the numbers of GP registrar, year nearly 60% of our training practices prevocational doctor and medical were taking advantage of its benefits. students continue to grow, it is important Our education programs continued that we continue this collaborative work to be delivered across three training to deliver integrated education and
training opportunities and to expand our capacity into the future. NCGPT owes its success to the dedication of our remarkable staff and this year marked an important milestone for six of our team who celebrated ten years with the organisation. Three Medical Educators and three Administration staff, each of whom have witnessed, and contributed to, the extraordinary growth and success of our organisation, were recognised for their contributions. As an employer we are very proud that so many of our original team remain employed with us and we continue to benefit from the commitment and depth of experience these long standing employees bring. Just as we are fortunate in our staff, we are also blessed with a highly skilled and committed board of directors, many of whom have been on the board since the earliest days of NCGPT. In 2013, after 5 years as Chairman, we bid farewell to Dr David Gregory. David was passionately dedicated to NCGPT and had served on the board since 2003. David’s leadership and friendship will be sorely missed, but we were pleased that our Deputy Chairman, Dr Christopher Jambor (on the board since 2004), has stepped into the role. We were delighted to be the home of a number of award recipients in 2013 including the GPET 2013 Registrar of the Year Award, the GPET 2013 Staff Excellence Award and the RACGP 2013 Rural Registrar of the Year Award. We believe these awards recognise not only the accomplishments of the individual recipients, but also the dedication of the NCGPT team which supports them. Overall, 2013 was another very successful year for NCGPT, and despite continued growth in our programs, we remain dedicated to delivering the highly personalised, supportive and innovative general practice education and training for which we are known. We greet the coming year with great enthusiasm as we prepare to welcome more doctors onto our training programs than ever before. Through our commitment to building on our past successes, while keeping an eye firmly on the future, we will ensure that all of the doctors who choose to train with NCGPT will be glad that they did.
The Australian General Practice Training Program The Australian General Practice Training Program (AGPT) continued to be our principal program and primary focus in 2013. At the start of the year NCGPT entered into a fresh three year contract with GPET to deliver the AGPT program for the period 2013 – 2015. We were pleased that we filled every one of our 45 allocated training places with excellent candidates.
The NCGPT Board welcomes GPET’s Chief Executive Officer, Megan Cahill to Ballina in November 2013
During the year, over 140 GP registrars, at different stages of their training, were engaged in our program. Those 140 GP registrars constitute a large proportion of the total GP workforce in our region and every day they make a significant contribution to improving health outcomes for our regional communities. Importantly, they are delivering invaluable services that would not be possible without the regionalised GP training program. To deliver our program, NCGPT relies upon the support of more than 150 dedicated GP supervisors who are working in 62 accredited training practices including five accredited Aboriginal Medical Services. We know that it is our GP supervisors and their practice staff who provide the day to day teaching and supervision that forms the backbone of our training program. We couldn’t do it without them! The ten year crew with CEO John Langill
NCGPT Aboriginal Health Training Strategy 2013-2015 In a significant development in 2013, NCGPT secured Commonwealth funding through GPET to advance our Aboriginal Health Training Strategy that we developed in 2012. The strategy aims to support the region’s Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) to continue to provide and expand training opportunities for GP registrars within the area of Aboriginal Health. In developing our strategy, in late 2012 NCGPT consulted with the management, GP supervisors and GP registrars at each of our accredited AMSs, and also with staff from The Many Rivers AMS Alliance, all of whom provided valuable input into the strategy. In 2013 the funding received was used to target specific priorities that the individual AMSs had identified during the consultation process. A portion of the funding also contributed to a senior project officer position within the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) who
NCGPT Medical Education Team
GPET Photo shoot at Durri Aboriginal Medical Service in Kempsey NSW
supported the work of NCGPT and the other NSW regional training providers. We were pleased that eight NCGPT registrars undertook 14 training terms in one of the five accredited AMS’s this year. The AMS’s hosting our registrars include Durri (Kempsey), Galambila (Coffs Harbour), Bullinah (Ballina), Bulgarr Ngaru (Grafton) and the Casino AMS. We anticipate a sixth AMS (Gurgun Bulahnggelah, Lismore) will begin to host registrars in 2014 and we look forward to working with them.
Prevocational General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) Three years after its successful start in 2010 NCGPT’s Prevocational GP Placements Program (PGPPP) has grown to include seven training posts located from Port Macquarie in the south to Coolangatta in the north. Each post allows up to five hospital-based junior doctors to experience general practice for 10 weeks.
In 2013, twenty eight junior doctors were able to experience what general practice is all about. All of the doctors participating in the program this year reported they had an excellent experience in general practice. That’s great news for general practice and we can expect that those doctors will make well informed career decisions when they choose to join the general practice training program. Indeed, we can see that the program is already paying dividends with a significant number of our registrars having completed a PGPPP term and providing very positive feedback from their experience: “This placement has definitely confirmed that I want to do general practice. I think it is useful for anyone whether or not they would like to do general practice in the long run. It is the only rotation where I have felt like a proper doctor (making my own decisions) and while initially I was nervous about my lack of knowledge, the practice that I was at, was extremely supportive and so I never
felt like I was alone. It has also been extremely rewarding, watching patients improve and getting the time to build rapport with patients which is difficult to come by in the hospital system.” ~ 2013 PGPPP JMO, Dr Sharon Tan, Westmead
Rural NSW General Practice Procedural Training and Rural Generalist Programs NCGPT’s Rural NSW GP Procedural Training Program continued to offer GP registrars and GPs opportunities to gain procedural skills and experience in Emergency, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Anaesthetics in accredited training posts across the region. This important program is funded by the NSW Ministry of Health and was once again highly subscribed in 2013 with eight doctors undertaking training during 2013. The doctors undertook training in Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Anaesthetics at
PGPPP Participants, Term 1 2013 with PGPPP Program Manager Jo Sayer and Medical Educators Dr Kayte Evans and Dr Nicola Foster
Healthy growth To provide support for our growing programs we welcomed two new members to our team in 2013. Gwyn Philip was recruited into the administration team and Shan Chow has come on board as our part time AGPT Program Administration Officer.
Tweed, Lismore and Coffs Harbour Base hospitals. Importantly, the doctors who complete procedural training use their new skills to provide valuable services at hospitals across our region and NSW. 2013 also saw the introduction of the new NSW Rural Generalist Program through which GP registrars are able to undertake procedural skills training. Through the Rural Generalist training pathway, the NSW Ministry of Health aims to create a supported career pathway that will provide trainees with qualifications as a medical practitioner who can work in a general practice setting as well as in a hospital, providing secondary medical care in a rural town. Primary care training and an advanced skill in either Obstetrics or Anaesthetics, or a blend of both, is available and the training is tailored individually as a coordinated package from entry to graduation. Fifteen funded places were available statewide in 2013 of which three were filled by NCGPT registrars who undertook training in Anaesthetics and Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Tweed Base Hospital. NCGPT looks forward to working with the NSW Health Education and Training Institute to expand the Rural Generalist Program over the coming years.
Overseas Trained Doctors Programs 2013 marked the launch of NCGPT’s new Overseas Trained Doctor National Education and Training (OTDNET) program. This important new program is funded by the Commonwealth through GPET. Recognising the
additional barriers and challenges faced by many doctors trained overseas, this program provides access to training, education and assistance to help these doctors prepare to sit the professional medical colleges’ fellowship exams. The program is tailored to ensure its relevance to each participant’s unique situation and has been designed to meet the fellowship requirements of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and/ or the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM). NCGPT received funding to support up to twenty overseas trained doctors in our region through our OTDNET program with feedback suggesting that our personalised approach is on the mark. Complementing the OTDNET program, NCGPT once again received funding in 2013 from the NSW Rural Doctors Network (NSWRDN) under the Preparing Eligible Doctors for Fellowship program. This program supports a further thirty seven overseas trained doctors across the region. This support provides doctors with access to resources and training opportunities that helps them prepare for the colleges’ fellowship exams. It is important to note that doctors must nominate either the OTDNET program or the NSWRDN program, but are not able to participate in both simultaneously. A further benefit of both of these programs is the access they provide to personal and social supports for this important group of doctors who are often working in isolated and challenging situations.
The face of AGPT NCGPT Registrar Liaison Officer and Registrar Medical Educator, Dr David Chessor, was selected as the face of AGPT’s 2014/15 marketing campaign. David and some of his colleagues took part in a photo shoot at Durri Aboriginal Corporation Medical Service and the images will grace AGPT promotional materials in 2014.
Exam Preparation Workshops Our new Exam Preparation Program launched in 2013 blends components of online tutorials, webinars and face-to-face learning, and already it is reaping rewards. In 2013 we had a 95% first time exam pass rate for registrars. The exam preparation workshops have also been eagerly received by overseas trained doctors, particularly those in more remote areas with limited access to support and training.
Research NCGPT continued to strengthen our research program and output in 2013 with four academic articles being published in three different Australian and international journals by our researchers.
New 2013 GPT1 registrars at February Foundation Workshop
2013 GPSN First Wave Scholarship Program Participants
Three of the papers originated from our research into the attributes of training practices that have successfully implemented vertically integrated teaching. The fourth paper arose from our ‘GPs in Schools’ project. This project promoted the value of an approach to integrated teaching amongst GP registrars, prevocational doctors, medical students and GP supervisors in a high school setting. We are pleased that we secured new funding through GPET’s Education Integration Project to expand on the original GPs in Schools project this year. We were also pleased that two NCGPT registrars were successful in attaining funding for academic posts through GPET this year and we look forward to them presenting their findings through their papers and conference presentations. The year also saw us complete our HWA-funded research project, ‘Increasing Clinical Supervisor Capacity in General Practice through Vertically Integrated Supervision Models: Current Practice, Barriers and Facilitators’ and an academic journal article has been submitted for publication. We also completed an RACGP-funded research project that investigated the effectiveness of Balint groups in non-urban general practice settings entitled ‘How Effective is Web 2.0 Balint Group Participation for GPs and GP Registrars in Regional Australia?’ and a journal article has been submitted for publication. Our continued investment in research directly enhances our training programs, but importantly, it also helps ensure that NCGPT is contributing nationally to the body of knowledge that informs the general practice training program.
Our move into movies NCGPT delved into its creative side in 2013 creating two short educational videos. The first called, ‘PGPPP: A Post up the Coast’ was aimed at encouraging Junior Dr David Chessor being awarded the GPET 2013 Registrar of the Year Award
Medical Officers to consider trying a PGPPP term as one of their hospital rotations. The short video featured interviews with some of our previous PGPPP registrars speaking about their experience of the program, NCGPT and their time on the North Coast. A QR code was developed that links to the video on PGPPP posters and promotional postcards distributed throughout our feeder hospitals. The second is a twelve minute video, ‘The AMS Experience’ which included interviews with a senior clinical nurse, CEO, GP registrar, GP supervisors and a senior Aboriginal Health Worker, each of whom offer their own perspective on the challenges and rewards of working with a regional AMS. A collaboration between NCGPT and participating AMSs, the video demonstrates the richly rewarding experience which comes from working in Aboriginal health, an experience that past registrars have described as ‘life changing’ as well as ‘powerful, enriching and confronting’. This video received positive media coverage though The Koori Mail, Limewire, and GPET’s Ngaaminya newsletter and was offered free of charge to all RTP’s to aid GP support for Aboriginal health.
Shining Lights NCGPT staff and registrars shone in 2013 receiving awards at the GPET Conference held in Perth, including the prestigious 2013 Registrar of the Year and the 2013 Staff Excellence Award Dr David Chessor, one of NCGPT’s Registrar Liaison Officers and a Registrar Medical Educator was awarded the 2013 GPET Registrar of the Year Award. David was honoured for his work in the field of Aboriginal Health; for his role as Registrar Liaison Officer with NCGPT; and also for his roles as Chair of the General Practice Registrar Medical Educator Network (GPRMEN) and the General Practice Registrar Supervisor Network (GPRSNET). Liz Degotardi, our Aboriginal Health Training Strategy Program Manager received the GPET Staff Excellence Award acknowledging her commitment to her role, to educating colleagues about Indigenous issues, and to creating a more culturally aware workplace.
Liz’s role, to place and support registrars within Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services throughout the North Coast, helps to ensure the provision of consistent, excellent quality healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and culturally aware GP’s both in Aboriginal Medical Services and in the wider community. But the story doesn’t end there! Dr David Chessor also won the 2013 RACGP National Rural Faculty Rural Registrar of the Year at the annual GP13 Conference in Darwin. The Award recognises an exceptional general practice registrar who demonstrates a commitment to improve the health and wellbeing of communities in regional, rural or remote Australia. In addition to the formal awards, we were also presented with the more playful awards for ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Actress’ at the GPET Goes to Hollywood Competition at the Convention Gala Dinner for our rendition of ‘My Favourite Things’ from the musical ‘The Sound of Music’.
Dr Jon Stephenson accepts the 2013 NCGPT Supervisor of the Year Award
NCGPT Supervisor of the Year
GPSN First Wave Program
Our congratulations go to Dr Jon Stephenson from King St Medical Centre, Murwillumbah who was awarded our Supervisor of the Year Award for 2013.
The General Practice Student Network’s First Wave Scholarship Program allows medical students the opportunity to experience a week of life in general practice training. In October we welcomed four medical students from the University of New England, Armidale to Byron Bay who were all highly enthusiastic about their experience. Feedback from one of the students stated “It was incredibly satisfying and rewarding finally seeing how everything we have learnt at Uni works in a real practice with real patients, providing them real care. It was an invaluable experience.”
Lights! Camera! Action!
“It was the first time we saw a professional put together all the things we are learning and actually see how medicine can be helpful to someone.” The students attended a workshop in Sydney, an NCGPT registrar training day, and also spent two days shadowing a GP registrar in their North Coast practice. NCGPT values the opportunity to show medical students the realities of life as a GP and looks forwarding to supporting future students through this program.
And the winner for Best Film in the GPET Goes to Hollywood Movie Competition was… NCGPT for ‘The Sound of Music’ (GP style of course). And, from the doctor’s surgery to the red carpet, the award for Best Actress went to our very own Dr Genevieve Yates!
administration team
2013 year in review
ncgpt registrar snapshot for 2013 • Current registrar numbers – 146 • PGPPP - 28 • Supervisors – 154 • Current training practices – 62
the 2013 cohort • Males – 37.5% • Females – 62.5% • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – 1.3% • Australian medical graduates – 65.3% • International graduates – 30.7% • 34.2% of applicants to NCGPT had participated in PGPPP
board of directors Dr Christopher Jambor (appointed Chair, Nov 2013) Dr Tim Francis (appointed Deputy Chair, Nov 2013) Dr Nick De Marco Dr John Moran Dr Sue Page Dr Nina Robertson Ms Naree Hancock (appointed November 2013) Dr David Gregory (Chair, retired November 2013) Dr John Kramer (retired October 2013) Mr Gary Southey (retired March 2013)
John Langill Chief Executive Officer Lesley Mitchell Executive Officer Bruce Barling Manager Program Development Sean O’Meara Communications Manager Amanda Shoebridge Communications and Events Officer Cindy Venables Quality Assurance Manager Caroline Hooper, Office Manager Chris Versace Information Technology and Systems Officer Lisa Weeks Finance & Payroll Officer Rhonda O’Dell Administration Officer Jennah Saville Administration Officer Gail Musolino Administration Officer Shan Chow Administration Assistant Gwyn Philip Administration Officer
liaison officers Dr John Vaughan Supervisor Liaison Officer Dr Nina Robertson Registrar Liaison Officer Dr David Chessor Registrar Liaison Officer Dr Clare Collins Registrar Liaison Officer
medical education team Dr Christine Ahern Director of Training Dr Hilton Koppe Senior Medical Educator Dr Linda Brown Medical Educator Dr Kayte Evans Medical Educator Dr Nicola Foster Medical Educator Dr Tim Francis Medical Educator Dr Nicola Holmes Medical Educator Dr Helena Johnston Medical Educator Dr Debbie Kors Medical Educator Dr Peter Silberberg Medical Educator Dr Sharon Sykes Medical Educator Dr Rob Trigger Medical Educator Dr Thea van de Mortel Research Director Dr Genevieve Yates Medical Educator Neil Bambrook Education Officer Sharyn Corben OTD & GPPTP Program Manager Liz Degotardi Aboriginal Health Strategy Project Manager Jo Sayer PGPPP Program Manager Sue Sladden Practice Support and Accreditation Manager Angelique Gellert Registrar Support Officer
02 6681 5711 info@ncgpt.org.au w w w. n c g p t . o r g . a u