Armidale is set to welcome a new registrar who will help keep the doors open at a practice that had been struggling to find GPs, thanks to a Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) remote supervision placement.
The regional New South Wales town has been in the news in recent months after a number of GPs left the area.
The new registrar will be practising at West Armidale Medical Clinic, which has been providing telehealth services as a stopgap since its last onsite GPs moved away. They will be supported by two remote supervisors.
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins, former Chair of GP Supervisors Australia, said the RACGP's remote supervision model aims to get more GPs training and working in communities in need across Australia.
"Remote supervision enables a GP to train in a community with limited or no onsite supervisor available – it's an innovative way to get more GP registrars into communities in need and improve access for patients," she said.
RACGP Senior Local Medical Educator, Head of Training New England Northwest, Dr Donna Quinn said the new placement in Armidale is a win for the community.
"The fact that a registrar will be able to practise here with remote supervision means that the patients at the clinic can continue to access care, and that makes a huge difference for a community," she said.
"It's also extremely fortunate that the two supervisors who signed up to do the remote supervision used to own the practice and lived in Armidale for years, so they know the patients and community."
RACGP National Lead Medical Educator Remote Supervision, Dr Tim Linton, said the placement in Armidale is unique because remote supervision typically occurs in more rural areas.
"These placements are typically in very rural and remote areas because they more commonly face shortages of both GPs and onsite supervisors," he said.
"While very rural and remote areas remain the RACGP's priority for these placements, when West Armidale clinic approached us, we saw the opportunity to make a difference. Many patients depend on this practice, and this placement is helping to keep the doors open for them."
Dr Linton said remote supervision could lead to more GPs staying on to live in the community they trained in.
"We put a lot of work into matching a registrar to a particular community and helping the community with what's needed to not only attract a registrar but to retain them," he said.
"Every community is different, and we need to consider all the factors that go into someone's decision to stay, such as housing, childcare, and whether local activities match their personal interests.
"Both registrars involved in the RACGP's remote supervision pilots in Norfolk Island, and Walgett, New South Wales, stayed on after their training, and that's the ideal outcome."
More information about the RACGP's remote supervision is on our website. Practices, supervisors and registrars who would like to be involved in the program can submit an expression of interest.
