The ‘many highlights’ of college-led training in SA

In rural South Australia, two GPs from different backgrounds have had equally rewarding experiences, cementing their love for the profession.
 
Dr Simon Hay trained as a GP in central Scotland before being ‘lucky enough’ to do a general practice placement as part of his intern year in 1999 and 2000, spending time on hospital posts in Australia.
 
Eventually he decided to commit to general practice training back in Scotland in 2005, then moved back to work in rural, outer-metropolitan and inner-metropolitan areas in SA.
 
Since 2013, he has worked as a senior medical educator in general practice training with a number of organisations across the state, and now sits as the RACGP’s Regional Director of Training for SA.
 
With his experience across international healthcare systems, what Dr Hay values most as a GP is undeniable.
 
‘I love the variety, the problem solving and the ongoing relationships that general practice provides, both with your patients and your practice team,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘I love the fact that general practice is the foundation that a quality, patient-centred and cost-effective health system should be based on.
 
‘I also love the way we train GPs – particularly the close guidance and one-on-one teaching we provide new GPs with.’
 
Meanwhile, Dr Tom Ryan, who is the current Senior Regional Medical Educator for South Australia, credits his interest in rural general practice to a rotation in his final year of medical school in Bordertown, in the south-east region of SA.
 
‘I was supervised by Dr May Goh and was amazed at the breadth and depth of her skill set,’ Dr Ryan told newsGP.
 
‘I knew then, that is what I wanted to emulate in my career path. Rural generalist practice is akin to “old fashioned” medical practice … care for patients from cradle to grave with extra skills in emergency medicine and, in my case, obstetrics and anaesthetics. 
 
‘A more satisfying career I could not have had.’
 
Both rate the last year since the return to college-led general practice training as having run smoothly, albeit the usual accompanying challenges.
 
Dr Hay says this observation rings true particularly when considering the size of the transition. And while there have been changes in systems and processes, he is satisfied that ‘the bottom line’ is the registrar experience in their training posts has continued as it always has done.
 
‘There have been many highlights,’ he said.
 
‘The collaboration between states that is now possible because we are all part of one organisation, the amazing team of medical educators that we have built in SA, the new RACGP exam resources that help support registrars around the time of exams, and the support from the national GP Training team.’
 
And despite the big shift that needed to be made in recovery of training from the regional training organisations (RTOs), Dr Ryan agrees the transition has gone ‘remarkably’ smoothly.
 
‘I think this is due to the general practices and, in particular, the supervisors carrying on their normal high-quality educational activities,’ he said.
 
‘With the benefit of hindsight, the training arm of the college being separate from the membership arm has allowed us to get on with it without too much disturbance.
 
‘The challenges have come from adapting to the new IT system – thankfully, the structure of training has not been radically altered.
 
‘The requirement of adding practical skills training to the educational calendar was also a memorable hurdle we sought to jump as quickly as possible. From feedback received from the registrars, we have made a reasonable fist of it.’


Dr Simon Hay (centre) with some of the SA training team before a supervisor workshop last month. (Image: supplied)

Echoing this, Dr Hay believes his team have stepped up to manage the accompanying challenges.
 
‘Moving from a relatively small organisation [RTO, GPEx] where everybody is based in the same building to a much bigger organisation with a national footprint has led to a period of adjustment,’ he said.
 
‘Probably the biggest challenge has been to attempt to maintain and improve the registrar experience whilst having to adjust to different systems and processes.’

Since 1 February 2023, the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program has been officially delivered by the RACGP and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
 
The program offers a range of supported training pathways to become a GP, across various locations in Australia, by experienced supervisors and medical educators. Applications for the 2025 AGPT Program are now open until 15 April.
 
So, for the training leads in Australia’s southern state, what are their goals for the year ahead?
 
‘There are many,’ Dr Hay said.
 
‘But some key ones are bedding in the program further and implementing small changes to move us towards the national model. And to improve the training pipeline in SA.’
 
For Dr Ryan, his focus is more tailored to his connections with rural general practice.
 
‘My personal goals for the next year are to explore and respond to the specific learning needs of the Rural Generalist cohort with regard to emergency skill training sessions,’ he said.
 
‘Which, I hope, will engender a sense of identity for them too.’
 
To coincide with the one-year anniversary of the return to college-led general practice training, newsGP will continue to profile medical educators working across the training regions over the next month.
 
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