May 2019

2019.1 OSCE

Another RACGP OSCE exam has come around. Our exam is a massive undertaking with multiple sites and a large number of Fellows and staff who worked to produce, plan and deliver this exam. In the end, exams are also a learning experience – candidates can do as well as they want or not as well as they wanted. The process of preparing and sitting an exam is a block of dedicated learning with skill and knowledge acquisition along the way.

Voluntary assisted dying

Voluntary assisted dying will come into effect in Victoria on 19 June, with the realisation of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017. Voluntary assisted dying means ‘the administering of a medication for the purposes of causing death in accordance with the steps and processes set out in law’. 

There will be no compulsion for doctors to participate in voluntary assisted dying; there will be no compulsion for institutions to participate (corporate GP networks, community health networks, hospitals and individual medical practices). There has been an 18-month period for organisations and health services to plan and prepare. 

It is most important to note that the process for anyone to access voluntary assisted dying legally must not have the health practitioner, in our situation the GP, raise it. The request must come from the patient. For GPs seeking to be involved, a training program must be undertaken. The program is focused on the requirements to complete the process and procedures. Further education will be available with regards to the discussions once a patient has asked about it. 

The review panel that has been constituted within Safer Care will monitor and report on all activity under the Act and may be a good place to turn to if you or your organisation are trying to work through questions and procedures. 

We have been fortunate to have GPs from the RACGP involved in a lot of this preparation phase. I hope that we have been able to contribute in order to make this safer for GPs to participate and safer for GPs who do not want to participate. Voluntary assisted dying is a significant change to health in Victoria. I recommend that we take some time to understand it and, if faced with a question, it is okay to pause and get the information and advice you need.

QI&CPD 

Lastly, please do not forget this is the last year of the Quality Improvement and Continuing Professional Development (QI&CPD) 2017–19 triennium! If you need any assistance, please call RACGP Victoria on 03 8699 0488. The administration staff is available to help you. 

Following the staging of ‘Psychodynamic principles for general practitioners – Part 1’, RACGP Victoria is pleased to host two further ‘Psychodynamic principles’ Part 2 and Part 3.

Part 2 – Saturday 1 June 2019 

This workshop will cover the following topics: 

• Reinforcing the important principles of Part 1.
• The psychodynamics of resistance to improvement (defences) in all its manifestations in psychological treatment.
• Understanding the anxiety disorders: New psychodynamic principles will be introduced and explored. 
• Previously discussed principles and their uses in anxiety disorders.

Pre-requisite: Psychodynamic principles for general practitioners – Part 1.

Register for Part 2. 

Part 3 – Saturday 10 August 2019

This workshop is devoted to the mind–body interaction and will cover the following topics: 

• Somatsation and how the mind–body interaction results in symptoms and disease, and the psychodynamics of eating disorders and body image disorders. 
• Understanding the psychodynamics of both mental and general illness, especially chronic illness and the role of the unconscious and conscious, meaning the patient ascribes to various types of disorders and their medical treatment. 
• What it means to be mentally well and the psychodynamics of wellness. A topic that has particular relevance not only to patients, but also to GPs. 

Pre-requisite: Psychodynamic principles for general practitioners – Part 1 and Part 2.

Register for Part 3.

The RACGP Women in General Practice Committee is pleased to present the ‘Hands on’ special skills event. 

Experts in their chosen field will present using hands-on procedure techniques. The following topics and speakers have been confirmed: 

• Dermatoscope – Dr Gary Pellizari 
• Vertigo – Dr David Szmulewicz 
• Breast – Dr Joanna Morgan 
• Shoulder – Mr Rohan Price 
• Hands – Dr Neela Janakiramanan 
• Cervical screening – Dr Lara Roeske.

Register now.

RACGP Rural has designed the Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training (FPS ST) model to provide a clear, viable mental health skill acquisition pathway without having to leave your practice.

The training package will provide you with focused psychological strategies skills derived from cognitive behavioural therapy as part of a treatment plan for common mental health problems.

The FPS ST comprises 21 hours of online learning, practical use of skills and active group discussion, all accessible through the RACGP’s gplearning platform.

Modules 1, 2 and 3 are each accredited for 40 Category 1 QI&CPD points. Module 4 is accredited for two Category 2 QI&CPD points. 

The FPS ST is also accredited by the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration and enables GPs access to Medicare items for providing psychological treatment services.

Registration for the third intake is open now for training commencement on Monday 17 June 2019.

Register for the June 2019 intake now.

Researchers from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)-funded Centre of Research Excellence in End-of-Life Care are conducting a study to determine the nature of the end-of-life decisions made by Victorian doctors, the frequency of these decisions and for which patients.

The research aims to understand current medical practice in Victoria and inform improvements to end-of-life care. 

A sample of Victorian doctors is being contacted from 23 April by the Australian Medical Association’s Australia Medical Publishing Company (AMPCo), inviting them to complete a paper or online survey.  

For more information, please email Dr Rachel Feeney on rachel.feeney@qut.edu.au 
 

*Inclusion does not imply RACGP endorsement.

From April 2019, Victorian GPs can access the General Practitioner Clinical Advisory Service (GPCAS), a peer-to-peer advice service. The service was created to help GPs support patients with prescription medication concerns and complex needs.  Each of the six Primary Health Networks across the state have been assigned two GP clinical advisors who had comprehensive training in the management of pain, anxiety, insomnia and associated addiction issues. 

To access the GPCAS, GPs can call 1800 812 804 (DACAS Victoria) and ask to be referred to the service.

For more information, visit the DACAS website, email gpclinicaladvisors@turningpoint.org.au or refer to this media release. 
 

*Inclusion does not imply RACGP endorsement.

The Good enough parenting workshop helps improve the quality of parent–child interactions that are associated with positive developmental outcomes. 

This three-day workshop introduces a schema-based model for family intervention to equip GPs in this preventive approach that averts unhealthy patterns in families. It provides tools for relationship repair and reconnection, thus leading to emotionally healthier and resilient children. 

The workshop includes the latest research and for the first time in Australia, ‘Positive schemas’. 

‘Good enough parenting’ is endorsed by Dr Jeffrey Young, Founder of Schema Therapy. 

For more information and registration, call Mark Timlin on 0432 451 523 or visit the All Good Psychology website. 

*Inclusion does not imply RACGP endorsement.