The RACGP awarded 20 academic posts in 2024. A list of the successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2024 academic post registrars and research questions.

The RACGP awarded 20 academic posts in 2023. A list of the successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2023 academic post registrars and research questions.

Academic Post registrar abstract supplement 2023 cohort

Scholarly articles published by 2023 academic registrars: 

• We’re trained to trust our patients”: a qualitative study on the general practitioners’ trust in patients for colorectal cancer shared care published by Dr John Nguyen in Family Practice.  
• What do Australian primary care clinicians need to provide long-acting reversible contraception and early medical abortion? A content analysis of a virtual community of practice published by Dr Sonia Srinivasan in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health.

Significant achievements:  

• Dr Sonia Srinivasan received the RACGP Foundation Charles Bridges-Webb Memorial Award for their project: Supporting primary care provision of contraception and abortion: an evaluation of digital content from an Australian virtual community of practice. ($1,000) 

The RACGP awarded 22 academic posts for the 2022 program. A list of the successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2022 academic post registrars and research questions. 

Scholarly articles published by 2022 academic registrars: 

• The barriers and enablers of older person health assessments in Australian primary care: clinician and patient perspectives published by Dr Nagalaxmi Iyengar in BJGP Open.
• Implementing a Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor Module With a Software Tool (Future Health Today): Qualitative Study published by Dr Matthew Suen in JMIR Formative Research.
• Understanding the implementation of health checks in the prevention and early detection of chronic diseases among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia: a realist review protocol published by Dr Matthew Smith in BMJ Open.
• Exploring clinical acceptability of a new quality improvement program aiming to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in people with chronic kidney disease in Australian general practice: qualitative study published Dr Caroline McBride in JMIR Human Factors.

Significant achievements: 

• Dr Renae Lawrence received the RACGP Foundation / BOQ Specialist Research Grant for their project: A general practice toolkit to promote physical activity among people living with cancer. ($20,000)
• Dr Soumya Soumya received the RACGP Foundation / Diabetes Australia Research Grant for their project: Do patients with pre-diabetes managed with Metformin achieve better glycaemic control? A national study using general practice data. ($57,261.00)
• Dr Chavy Arora received the RACGP Foundation Family Medical Care Education and Research Grant for their project: Diagnosing Doctor Google: investigating clinician perspectives on older Victorians accessing vaccine-related information online. ($18,432.00)

The RACGP awarded 21 academic posts for the 2021 program. A list of the successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2021 academic post registrars and research questions. 

Scholarly articles published by 2021 academic registrars: 

• General practice management of depression among patients with coronary heart disease in Australia published by Dr Habiba Jahan in BMC Primary Care.  
• Factors influencing early presentation to general practitioners for non–screen detected breast cancer published by Dr Darran Foo in Australian Journal of General Practice.
• Telehealth for Australian general practice: the present and the future published by Dr Katie Fisher in Australian Journal of General Practice.
• The telehealth divide: health inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic published by Dr Katie Fisher in Family Practice. 
• General practice trainees’ telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study published by Dr Katie Fisher in Family Practice. 
• Body dysmorphic disorder, skin diseases and psychological morbidity: common and complex published by Dr Katie Fisher in British Journal of Dermatology. 
• Australian general practice registrars’ experiences of training, well-being and support during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study published by Dr Isabella White in BMJ Open.
• Communicating medical information with Aboriginal patients: lessons learned from GPs and GP registrars in Aboriginal primary health care published by Dr Wissam Ghamrawi in Australian Journal of Primary Health.
• The chlamydia care cascade of young people attending Australian general practices; a descriptive study to assess gaps in care published by Dr Chang-Jun Jung in Sexual Health.

Significant achievements: 

• Dr Isabel Hanson was selected as a 2022 Sir General John Monash Scholar
• Dr Isaac Tranter received the RACGP Foundation Alan Chancellor Award for their project: Immunising older Australians - Perspectives from GP training. ($500)
• Dr Katie Fisher received the RACGP Foundation Charles Bridges-Webb Memorial Award for their project: The prevalence and associations of telehealth consultations in GP registrars' practice: a cross-sectional study nested within the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) study. ($1,000.00)
• Dr Brent Venning received the RACGP Foundation Charles Bridges-Webb Memorial Award for their project: A Discrete Choice Experiment: Preferences and willingness-to-pay for a DNA test to assess cancer risk. ($1,000.00)
• Dr Brent Venning received the RACGP Foundation Family Medical Care Education and Research Grant for their project: Exploring patient preferences for the investigation of cancer symptoms in general practice. ($19,882.00)
• Dr Brent Venning received the RACGP Foundation Walpole Grieve Award for their project: Collaborating on primary care cancer research in the UK. ($5,000.00)

A list of the successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2020 academic post registrars and research questions. 

Scholarly articles published by 2020 Academic Registrars: 

• Immunising older Australians: Pre-COVID-19 vaccine perspectives from general practice training published by Dr Isaac Tranter in Australian Journal of General Practice.
• Long-term benzodiazepines and z-drug prescribing in Australian general practice between 2011 and 2018: A national study published by Dr Amelia Woods in Pharmacology Research & Perspectives.
• Women’s experiences of, and preferences for, postpartum contraception counselling published by Dr Ching Kay Li in Australian Journal of Primary Health.
• What can we learn from Australian general practices taking steps to be more environmentally sustainable? A qualitative study published by Dr Alexandra Pavli in Family Practice.

Significant achievements:  

• Dr Talila Milroy received the RACGP Foundation Indigenous Health Award for their project: Aboriginal women’s perspectives on menstrual health and modes of engagement with primary care providers. ($9,000)

A list of successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2019 academic post registrars and research questions

Scholarly articles published by 2019 academic registrars: 

• Advance care planning in dementia: a qualitative study of Australian general practitioners published by Dr Adnan Alam in Australian Journal of Primary Health.
• Educator perceptions on teaching Indigenous health: Racism, privilege and self‐reflexivity published by Dr Alyssa Vass in Indigenous Health.
• Trends in long-term opioid prescriptions for musculoskeletal conditions in Australian general practice: a national longitudinal study using Medicine Insight, 2012–2018 published by Dr Sean Black-Tiong   in BMJ Open.
• Climate Change and Australian General Practice Vocational Education: A Cross-sectional Study published by Dr Kathleen Wild in Family Practice.

Significant achievements: 

• Dr Adnan Alam received the Australian Journal of Primary Health Best Oral Paper Prize for their project: Advance care planning in dementia: A qualitative study of Australian general practitioners.
• Dr Rita McMorrow received the Alan Chancellor Award – presented to a GP or general practice registrar considered to be the best first presenter of a research paper at the RACGP’s annual conference – GP19 in October 2019. 
• Dr Rita McMorrow received the RACGP Foundation / Diabetes Australia Research Grant for their project: Assessing and addressing diabetes distress in Australian general practice: a mixed method exploratory study of current practice. ($59,982)
• Dr Rita McMorrow received the RACGP Foundation Walpole Grieve Award for their project: International collaboration with Steno Diabetes Centre, Copenhagen. ($5,000)
• Dr Georgina Taylor received the Ada Wilmadda Parry Aboriginal Health Scholarship – presented to the best project idea that focuses on improving cultural and linguistic understanding between indigenous patients and general practitioners to create positive health change in the Northern Territory. 
• Dr Sean Black-Tiong received the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) / RACGP Foundation Research Grant for their project: General Practice management of physical and psychological trauma resulting from road traffic accidents, 2011-18. ($99,189)
• Dr Katrina Giskes received the RACGP Foundation / HCF Research Foundation Research Grant for their project: AF TRENDS- Atrial fibrillation treatment, recommendations, electronic decision support and screening. ($59,737)
• Dr Katrina Giskes received the RACGP Foundation / HCF Research Foundation Research Grant for their project: AF SELF SMART- Atrial Fibrillation Self-Screening, Management And Guideline Recommended Therapy. ($59,760)
• Dr Antony Bolton received the RACGP Foundation Charles Bridges-Webb Memorial Award for their project: Barriers & enablers to the provision of structured healthcare to people who regularly use methamphetamine in General Practice: A qualitative study. ($1,000)

A list of successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2018 academic post registrars and research questions

Scholarly articles published by 2018 academic registrars 

• Patient chosen gap payments in primary care: Predictions of patient acceptability, uptake and willingness to pay from a discrete choice experiment published by Dr Daniel Epstein in Social Science and Medicine. 
• Patient-Chosen Gap Payment: an exploratory qualitative review of patients and general practitioner attitudes toward an alternative funding model for general practice published by Dr Daniel Epstein in Australian Journal of Primary Health.
• Diagnosing and providing initial management for patients with Gestational Diabetes: What is the General Practitioner's experience? published by Dr Alison Green in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.
• Prescribing of long-acting reversible contraception by general practice registrars across different rural regions of Australia: A cross-sectional analysis of the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training Study data published by Dr Rachel Turner in Australian Journal of Rural Health.
• Prevalence and associations of prescribing of long-acting reversible contraception by general practitioner registrars: a secondary analysis of ReCEnT data published by Dr Rachel Turner in BMJ Sexual Reproductive Health.
• Barriers to prescribing of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) by general practitioner registrars: A cross-sectional questionnaire published by Dr Rachel Turner in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
• Associations of anticipated prescribing of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) by GP registrars: A cross-sectional study published by Dr Rachel Turner in Australian Journal of General Practice.

Significant achievements: 

• Dr Pallavi Prathivadi and Dr Daniel Epstein have both been awarded PhDs since completing their academic posts in 2018. 
• Dr Pallavi Prathivadi received the 2019 RACGP Victorian Registrar of the Year. 
• Dr Pallavi Prathivadi received the RACGP Foundation Charles Bridges-Webb Memorial Award for their project: Qualitative insights into the opioid prescribing practices of Victorian GP registrars. ($1,000)
• Dr Melinda Choy received the RACGP Foundation/IPN Medical Centres Research Grant for their project: eHealth and disadvantage: A mixed methods study exploring how patients with chronic disease experience eHealth.
• Dr Melinda Choy received the RACGP Foundation Walpole Grieve Award for their project: Understanding how GPs can effectively influence and build State/Territory health policy: a research and experience exchange to help form a Community of Practice. ($5,000)
• Dr Roisin Bhamjee received the RACGP Foundation Charles Bridges-Webb Memorial Award. 
• Dr Daniel Epstein received the 2018 RACGP Victorian Registrar of the Year. 
• Dr Rachel Turner received the Dr Charlotte Hespe research award from GP Synergy for an outstanding academic project. 

A list of successful applicants and their research projects can be accessed here: 2017 academic post registrars and research questions (PDF 351 KB) 

Scholarly articles published by the 2017 academic registrars: 

• “Junior doctors, burnout and wellbeing: Understanding the experience of burnout in general practice registrars and hospital equivalents” 
• A paper written by 2017 academic post registrar Dr Rebekah Hoffman published in the Australian Journal of General Practice.  
• “An online resource supporting refugee healthcare in Australian general practice: An exploratory study” Dr Timothy Wittick et al Australian Journal of General Practice. Volume 47, No. 11, November 2018. 
• “Definition of whole person care in general practice in the English language literature: a systematic review” Dr Hayley Thomas et al. published in BMJ Open, Volume 8, Issue 12, 2018. 
• “Mobile App Use by Primary Care Patients to Manage Their Depressive Symptoms: Qualitative Study” – Dr Alison Pung et al. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2018;20(9) :e10035. 
• “Socioeconomic status and time in glucose target range in people with type 2 diabetes: a baseline analysis of the GP-OSMOTIC study” - Dr Mei Lyn Tan et al. BMC Endocrine Disorders (2018) 18:47. 
• “General practice registrars' experiences of antenatal care: A cross-sectional analysis”. Dr Emma Pappalardo et al. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Aug 19. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13042.