Training site requirements
FSP registrars are required to enter training with a nominated training site. You don't participate in a placement process. Your training site is reviewed during your eligibility assessment at the application stage, and any time you want to change locations or if an audit is requested.
It's expected that all FSP registrars work in comprehensive general practice as outlined in the RACGP's Comprehensive Australian General Practice Gudiance Document.
All training sites and supervisors must be accredited against the RACGP standards for general practice training. Accreditation helps ensure a high standard of general practice training across Australia and the provision of high-quality teaching resources, supervision and facilities for registrars.
If the training site you are nominating is already an accredited training site to train AGPT or FSP registrars, then your training site will be considered an approved practice. If you nominate to work in a training site that isn't currently accredited to train AGPT or FSP registrars, then your position in the FSP is conditional upon your nominated training site gaining accreditation against the RACGP Standards for general practice training as an accredited training site. The RACGP will support your training site to achieve accreditation within your first six months in the program. If your training site doesn't achieve accreditation, you'll need to cease training and source another accredited training site. You'll be placed on leave until you can commmence training at another site.
Registrars are required to work in the hours between 8.00 am to 6.00 pm during training and may provide after-hours services is suitable. This arrangement needs to be equitable to other doctors at the training site.
After-hours work is usually not considered comprehensive. The after-hours period is defined as:
- after 6.00 pm and before 8.00 am on weekdays
- before 8.00 am and from 12.00 pm onwards on Saturday
- all day Sunday and public holidays.
Please note that the General Practice Fellowship Program Placement Guidelines are revised regularly, in addition to revisions to the Commonwealth Government's distribution priority areas (DPA) and Modified Monash (MM) classifications. FSP registars' training site location must remain an approved location as per the guidelines for the entirety of their program. A change in training site location may be necessary if the DPAs or MM classifications change.
The FSP is a rural training program and only accepts registrars who are working in MM2 to MM7 locations, unless the registrar is subject to extenuating and unforeseen circumstances.
TIP
You can apply to work in up to two independent practices, or three branch practices on the FSP.
If you're working in two independent training sites, you're required to meet the minimum of 10.5 hours face to face rostered patient consultation time, over a minimum of two days, within a minimum 14.5 hour wokring week hours at each independent training site.
If you're working across three branch practices, two of those must meet program requirements of 14.5 hours a week per site, in your third practice you must do one or two sessions per week. All three training sites must meet branch practice requirements.
Rural Generalist Fellowship registrars
If you're a registrar working towards Rural Generalist (RG) Fellowship, at least 52 weeks (FTE) of your general practice training must be completed in an MMM 3-7 location, either in one continuous block or in two six-month terms.
Your rural general practice training must include:
- a diversity of patient presentations; age, gender, socioeconomic status and cultural and linguistic background
- ideally, at least two different supervisors and two different general practice management systems.
However, there are circumstances where it may be appropriate for you to remain in the same training site for extended periods (>12 months). Examples include:
- You are filling a significant workforce need need in a rural / remote location, e.g. in rural communities of MMM 4-7.
- Leaving the rural town would be detrimental to the registrar and their family eg carer responsibilities for a parent locally, partner working in town or the educational needs of children.
- There are limited accredited training sites (or training sites suitable to be accredited) within the training location and there is minimal variation in practice models.
Should these circumstances apply, the RACGP will support the registrar to complete the diversity requirement through alternative activities.
Rural general practice training should also give you at least one of the following experiences:
- providing emergency/trauma services at the local hospital or similar healthcare facility
- providing other procedural and/or non-procedural services at the local hospital or similar healthcare facility
- providing care with limited access to local specialists, including hospitals with salaried medical specialists and inpatient-outpatient allied health services
- providing after-hours services according to community needs.
It's your choice to obtain RG Fellowship. It isn't mandatory.