SA leaders gather to boost GP numbers

A new South Australian think tank has been formed to develop plans on how to reverse the reducing number of GPs across the state.
 
The Raising the Prestige of General Practice Think Tank will meet for the first time on Thursday, with a goal of delivering three strategies aimed at attracting more medical students into GP training within the next year.
 
The coalition will include SA’s Health and Wellbeing Minister Chris Picton, Shadow Health Minister Ashton Hurn, Shadow Minister for Regional Health Services, Ageing, Preventative Health, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Penny Pratt, and Health and Wellbeing Department chief executive Dr Robyn Lawrence.

The group will also be joined by a number of GPs, registrars, medical students, and academics, including RACGP South Australia Chair Dr Sian Goodson.
 
It comes at a time of crisis within general practice, with just 13.8% of medical students considering general practice as a preferred career path.
 
Only 70 people applied to be GP registrars in South Australia last year, far fewer than the 110 available spots, and Dr Goodson said getting more GPs in training will be essential to rebuilding the state’s GP workforce.  
 
‘General practice is one of the most rewarding careers, but this is not reflected in the number of medical students choosing general practice,’ she said.
 
‘In fact, medical student interest in general practice is at an all-time low and we urgently need to reverse this trend.
 
‘Our think tank will look at what barriers there are to general practice training, and what strategies we can action to make it a more attractive and viable option for medical students in SA.’
 
The think tank was organised by the RACGP’s South Australia Faculty, in partnership with Adelaide University Medical School and Flinders University College of Medicine.
 
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