The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) will assume responsibility for selection of 90% of rural and metropolitan candidates into the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program commencing with entry for the 2018 intake.
RACGP President Dr Bastian Seidel said having the profession control selection, based on contemporary evidence based criteria, will ensure only the most skilled registrar candidates are granted entry to general practice training.
“By directly managing the process the RACGP in conjunction with the Regional Training Organisations (RTOs) will be able to better align selection to the knowledge, skills and approach required of an RACGP Fellow,” he said.
“Responsibility and oversight at the entry stage of the recruitment program for GPs further endorses our commitment to ensuring GPs are providing the best possible patient care in Australia.
“The RACGP’s strong relationship with the Department of Health (DoH) has been critical in securing the move of selection across to the profession.
“The RACGP has advocated that the selection process should focus on the potential for candidates to achieve fellowship, rather than the current focus on selection into training.
“Fellowship of the RACGP is a specialist qualification. It signifies that a GP has been assessed as competent across the core skills of general practice, enabling him or her to practice safely, unsupervised, anywhere in Australia.
“Therefore capability and professionalism will feature in the RACGP selection process, as these two factors are well known quality predictors.”
The RACGP selection process is attuned to lessening attrition (both voluntary and involuntary), lessening trainee’s under-performance (decreasing reliance on supply of remediation funds) and increasing successful completion of the program (in the past measured by time of completion and examination performance).
The RACGP will also be managing Academic Posts, Education Research Grants, AGPT clinical appeals and remediation for RACGP registrars.
The RACGP will work closely with the RTOs and the Department of Health (DoH) to ensure the AGPT application process is robust and transparent.
Planning with the RTOs and DoH is progressing and the RACGP will launch its definitive guide for applicants next month.