about tropical medical training
General Practice training in Australia is delivered by Regional Training Providers (RTPs). Each RTP is responsible for training within a specific geographic area. Based in Townsville, Tropical Medical Training (TMT) is responsible for GP training in northern and western Queensland. TMT was established as a not-for-profit public company, limited by guarantee, on 13 December 2001. The company began operating in January 2002 as part of a new Australia-wide RTP network for GP vocational training under the direction of General Practice Education and Training (GPET), an initiative of the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Health and Ageing. TMT oversees the training of GP Registrars and participants in the PreVocational General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) throughout a region larger than New South Wales and Victoria combined. PGPPP is a Federal Government initiative to place junior doctors (interns and postgraduate year 2) into General Practice for 10-12 week terms. TMT conducts the program, which is designed to build practitioner confidence and provide exposure and interest in General Practice in well-supervised placements for participants. TMT’s area covers two-thirds of Queensland from Sarina in the south, up along the eastern seaboard including the major regional centres of Mackay, Townsville and Cairns, to the Torres Strait and down through towns like Mount Isa and Longreach in the west. TMT is based at The Townsville Hospital in a purpose-built training facility for GP training. The company conducts training through a structure supported by regionally based education and support staff.