Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training project

ReCEnT

Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training project

ReCEnT

Education > GP training > ReCEnT
Last updated 24 October 2025

What is ReCEnT?
The Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) project is a flagship general practice education and training project.

Funded by the Department of Health, the project began as a pilot in 2009 by the former regional training provider General Practice Training – Valley to Coast. ReCEnT has grown quickly with GP registrars across most of Australia now participating in the project.

The ReCEnT project is the first of its kind to document Australian GP registrars’ educational and clinical experiences over time by measuring:

  • what registrars do, the types of patients and conditions they see and their clinical and education actions during the consultation
  • how registrars’ practice changes during their training

How does ReCEnT work?
The project requires GP registrars to:

  • complete online encounter forms on which they record details of 60 consecutive consultations
  • Repeat the process in each of their three general practice terms

GP registrars are provided with a Registrar Feedback Report that compares their data to the larger group of registrars and, in some cases, national GP data.

Registrars are strongly advised to discuss their feedback report with their supervisors.

When a training practice has had at least five registrar-terms in ReCEnT, the supervisor and practice manager will receive an Annual Practice Report.

What are the benefits of ReCEnT for registrars?

The patients and conditions that GP registrars see can be highly variable between training practices, and from one registrar to another.

To promote reflective practice, approximately two weeks after completing the encounter forms, GP registrars receive their Registrar Feedback Report. The report compares their practice with that of their peers in the following areas:

  • patient demographics
  • diagnoses
  • test ordering practice
  • prescribing
  • continuity of care
  • duration of consultation
  • seeking of information

This information helps registrars identify what patient exposure they might be missing to help them make
informed decisions about future placements and learning opportunities, as well as targeting their preparation for exams.

ReCEnT at a glance


The project has ethics approval from the RACGP National Research and Evaluation Ethics Committee. All circulation, collection and storage of data is managed in accordance with the project’s ethics approval.