#Letstalk on World Family Doctor Day
RACGP members are encouraged to join the online World Family Doctor Day (WFDD) conversations today and throughout the weekend.
This year’s WFDD theme, ‘Depression: Let’s talk’, provides an opportunity for Australian GPs and international family doctors to reflect on the crucial role they play in the treatment of mental health disorders.
RACGP members can join the online WFDD conversation by sharing a photo of themselves holding up a depression statistic on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtags #Letstalk and #WFDD2017.
Visit the RACGP website for more information and to download the RACGP’s WFDD posters.
Nominations for the RACGP awards close today
RACGP members are encouraged to nominate their peers for a 2017 RACGP Award before they close today at 5.00 pm (AEST).
Nominations for the following awards in each faculty are now open:
- General Practice of the Year
- General Practitioner of the Year
- General Practice Supervisor of the Year
- General Practice Registrar of the Year
Nominations are also open for the RACGP Honorary awards, RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health awards and the RACGP Rural awards and bursaries.
Nominations for all awards must be received by Friday 19 May 2017, 5.00 pm (AEST).
Visit the RACGP website to submit your nomination.
RACGP Extraordinary General Meeting – 30 May
The RACGP Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) is less than two weeks away. The Governance Review and resulting EGM have been more than three years in the making and supported by extensive consultation and expert advice.
Members are encouraged to attend the online meeting and vote on these important proposals. The online format has been chosen for this EGM to allow easy and equitable access for members in all parts of Australia. Instructions for joining the online meeting will be released next week.
Proxy nominations remain open and must be received no later than 8.00 pm Sunday 28 May 2017 (AEST).
If you have questions or comments about the EGM or the proxy nomination process, join the discussion in the dedicated EGM forum on shareGP, or contact the RACGP on 1800 472 247 or egm@racgp.org.au.
Launch of New Exam Support Online modules
A new Exam Support Online (ESO) module for RACGP Fellowship exam candidates is now available. The module provides a comprehensive introduction to the exams in a user-friendly and interactive format.
The first six activities in the module provide: an overview of the RACGP Fellowship exams, information on how to prepare for the exams, and an overview and practice exam questions for the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and the Key Feature Problem (KFP) exam.
Two activities on the Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) are currently in development for release later in 2017.
Log in to gplearning on the RACGP website to access the ESO activities.
Australian Family Physician to appoint new editorial board
The RACGP council has formally named Prof Moyez Jiwa Chair of a new Editorial Board to guide Australian Family Physician (AFP).
The new board members will be supported by a panel of international experts, playing an active role in guiding the AFP editorial team and assisting in the peer-review process. This will help to ensure AFP remains Australian GPs’ primary source of relevant, evidence-based medical information.
The full membership of the new Editorial Board will be confirmed in the coming weeks, with their two-year term commencing from 1 June.
Clinical Pearl: Egg allergy prevention
Allergy to hen’s eggs is the second most common food allergy in infants and children. Studies have shown that the introduction of egg to the diet of infants aged 4–6 months of age reduces the risk of egg allergy compared with children who started egg later in life.
Before introducing egg, infants should be able to tolerate some solid foods (eg cereals, fruits and vegetables). Infants should be given a taste of egg with an oral antihistamine available. If there is no apparent reaction, egg can be introduced in gradually increasing amounts.
Consumption, not avoidance, reduces the risk of developing egg allergy.
Visit the RACGP’s Handbook of non-drug interventions (HANDI) for more information, including examples of egg protein sources.
In Practice poll results: GP satisfaction with discharge summaries
Discharge summaries are the primary method of communication between hospitals and a patient’s GP upon discharge. There is an expectation that discharge summaries will provide clear and sufficient information to ensure GPs are able to follow up safely and effectively, including the follow-up of test results.
We polled members to further understand the extent to which discharge summaries provided to GPs are unclear and lacking important information, presented in confusing formats, or are not provided at all.
The discharge summaries received by 40% of respondents are often unclear, in an ineffective format, and/or missing pertinent information, requiring clarification and follow-up. A further 27% reported that the discharge summaries they received were almost always lacking pertinent information, or were consistently not provided at all.
Members were concerned about GPs being expected to follow up results that are not available at the time of discharge and not forwarded to them when they become available. GPs in such circumstances are often met with barriers when trying to access the results they have been asked to review. Members stressed that hospitals need to alert GPs directly if follow up is required.
The RACGP thanks all poll respondents for their feedback, which will be used to inform our advocacy work surrounding hospital discharge summaries.