The RACGP’s Rural Generalist Fellowship (FRACGP-RG) is in progress. There are two main streams of work ongoing:
- Seeking recognition of Rural Generalist Medicine as a protected title and a specialised field within the specialty of general practice;
- Updating the Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) curriculum to align with the requirements of a national Rural Generalist training framework.
With an updated curriculum the Fellowship will be re-branded as FRACGP-RG. This new curriculum will also be submitted as part of the process in gaining recognition of Rural Generalist Medicine as a specialised field within the specialty of general practice.
Background
A ‘Rural Generalist’ is a rural GP working to the full scope of their practice with skill sets informed by community needs, including advanced procedural and non-procedural skills with an emphasis on emergency medicine.
GPs are generalists by definition and Rural Generalist Medicine is a well-established model of care, practiced by many GPs in rural and remote areas across Australia.
However, there is no nationally consistent training framework, or a single recognised title, so training, credentialing and employment arrangements are complex and inconsistent across Australia.
The RACGP supports the implementation of a dedicated national framework that formally recognises Rural Generalist Medicine to provide a specific training pathway for this career and a national process for recognising and supporting existing Rural Generalists.
The RACGP and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) are lodging a joint application to the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) for the formal recognition of Rural Generalist Medicine as a specialised field within the speciality of general practice.
This recognition means there is no need to create an entirely new curriculum to train Rural Generalists. However, the RACGP is seeking accreditation to offer a Rural Generalist Fellowship with robust, modern curriculums aligned to the requirements of a national framework and the Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) curriculums will be updated to align with national requirements. The updated curriculums will be submitted as part of the process in gaining recognition of Rural Generalist Medicine.
Existing GPs will be able to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning for training they have completed or work they are already doing in rural communities to the scope of a Rural Generalist.
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