The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) awarded the Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) to 18 graduates in October, joining the 464 members who have already successfully obtained the FARGP.
With 181 registrars and 209 practising GPs enrolled in the program, the RACGP’s FARGP program continues to be the largest rural General Practice vocational training program.
The FARGP is the qualification awarded by the RACGP beyond the vocational Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP) and caters for both general practice registrars and practising GPs.
The FARGP program recognises additional training GPs may undertake to work confidently in their rural and remote Australian communities.
Dr Kathy Kirkpatrick, RACGP National Rural Faculty (NRF) Chair, said the FARGP has been designed to enable GPs to acquire specific areas of knowledge and skill sets to meet the needs of their local communities.
“The core of general practice is the application of a wide range of general clinical skills. It is these skills that underpin appropriate and comprehensive care for all Australians, regardless of their location.
“Rural general practice presents its own unique challenges which are often context specific and the RACGP’s FARGP compliments the generalist skills obtained in the FRACGP with recognition of advanced skills training.
“The FARGP offers GPs an engaging and relevant educational program that broadens the options for safe, accessible and comprehensive care for Australia’s rural, remote and very remote communities,” said Dr Kirkpartick.
All FARGP candidates (registrars and practising GPs) complete or show evidence of having completed:
- a learning plan and reflection
- 12 months in general practice in a rural setting
- 12 months advanced rural skills training in an accredited post
- a 6 month ‘Working in rural general practice’ community-based project
- a series of advanced emergency medicine activities including two approved emergency courses.
The RACGP is the voice of rural general practice with over 9 600 members in our National Rural Faculty including 5 407 general practitioners working in rural and remote general practice.