January 2022

I’ve always been vaguely aware that, even as an adult, I continue to harbour remnants of the magical thinking I was prone to when I was about six. Most recently, my inner six-year-old thought, ‘Things will be totally different next year. We just have to get to New Year’s Day, and we’re sorted.’ And then, ‘Let’s eat ice cream with sprinkles to celebrate.’ 

Alas, both my inner six-year-old and I were deeply disappointed to wake up on 1 January to see that not only had COVID not magically gone away, it was getting apocalyptically worse. AND there was no ice cream in the freezer.

The cataclysmic numbers mean several things for our fair state: there’s more virus out there, there are more workers standing down, there are fewer medical resources to go around, and there's little capacity to plan for the next few months in any industry, especially ours.

As a result, RACGP Victoria has had to make the painful but well-deliberated decision to postpone, yet again, all of our face-to-face events until at least March this year.

I’m reaching out to our members, as utterly exhausted and battle-weary as college staff are, to thank you for your patience as we again start work to reschedule these huge and important events, including Fellowship ceremonies and educational events.

We can’t guarantee everyone’s safety, nor ensure sufficient college and/or venue staff to run events, given the wildfire of virus out there. The very moment we feel we can do so, I assure you we will. We’re committed to running these events for every member and every New Fellow.

For now, it’s ice cream with extra sprinkles on the sofa in sad and sorry compensation. But we will reschedule, I can promise you that.

Dr Anita Muñoz
Chair, Victoria Faculty

I hope you had the opportunity to take a well-earned break and spend time with family and friends over the festive season.

Please note the extension until 30 June 2022 of:

• Public Health Order #2 (Emergency supply of Schedule 4 medicines by pharmacists)
• Public Health Order #4 (Supply of Schedule 4 medicines on a digital image of a paper prescription).

     Read the gazette notice     

You may find the MVEC immunising children and infants webinar (on demand) helpful if you’re participating in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout for 5–11-year-olds.

Also, you can find any of our previous newsletters on our website.

Postponement of upcoming Victoria events

Due to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone our upcoming in-person events.

The events that have been postponed are:

• Core skills workshop
• February Fellowship ceremonies
• February basic life support
• GPADD22

We’ll will keep you updated if anything else changes.

If you have any concerns, please contact us at vic.events@racgp.org.au

What does the hospital Code Brown mean for general practice?

For the first time ever, the Victorian Government has activated an emergency Code Brown alert in multiple hospitals across the state.

We expect to see a surge in demand for general practice care, including from COVID-19-positive people seeking telehealth consults and patients who have had to delay elective surgery.

This crisis comes at a time when GPs, practice managers, nurses, receptionists and administrative workers are under more pressure than ever. We will provide regular updates over the next six weeks to keep you informed on how the Code Brown is affecting general practice. In the meantime, you can access more information and resources on our website.

     Code Brown resources     

Code Brown for general practice - weekly webinar series

     Register now     

Being at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant constantly updating your knowledge and skills.

To recognise your efforts, the RACGP has allocated an additional 25 CPD points – equivalent to 12.5 hours of educational activities – to GPs participating in the CPD program.

New COVID-19 self-directed CPD accredited activity to help GPs having difficulty accessing accredited activities (formerly category 1)

We’ve developed a new self-directed CPD accredited activity worth 40 points to recognise the extensive professional development and quality improvement undertaken by many of you as a requirement of your pandemic response and changed practices.

The activity will be highly relevant to a number of GPs, particularly those with limited time to take on other CPD accredited activities. It allows you to reflect on your lessons learned and easily record them on your myCPD dashboard.

This activity can be accessed on your myCPD dashboard. To access the form, please login to your RACGP account>myCPD>Log>Log CPD Accredited Activity>COVID Management.

     Access the activity     

Build a brighter future for your practice

The Practice Owners Masterclass is a one-day interactive workshop built around an existing clinic case study of two GP owners. The workshop steps you through the development of a successful business and strategic plan covering: 

• accounting and financials 
• getting the best out of your people and practice staff 
• managing patients and services 
• managing doctor payments. 

This masterclass is proudly supported by CommBank Health, official banking and financial services partner of the RACGP.

     Register now     

Events calendar

The RACGP’s COVID Vaccine Booking Program education kit supports you to use the Vaccine Clinic Finder Connect to make patients aware of your vaccination clinic.

You can access the kit online to ensure patients can easily connect with your practice to book their COVID-19 vaccinations, including booster doses.

You and your practice staff can work through the kit to familiarise yourselves with:

• the Vaccine Clinic Finder (VCF) and its role in improving access to COVID-19 vaccines
• the VCF patient journey
• integrating online appointment booking systems
• updating your practice’s VCF information using the Vaccine Clinic Finder Connect.

     Access the education kit     

The National Cancer Screening Register has integrated with one of Australia’s leading clinical software platforms, Communicare.

Communicare supports more than 50% of Aboriginal medical services and is used by more than 8000 healthcare professionals nationwide. The platform was created in collaboration with rural and remote health services to support the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The integration supports improved patient participation in the National Cervical Screening Program and National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, particularly those in under-screened communities across Australia.

    Find out more     

If you’re a non-vocationally registered doctor and plan to sit the RACGP Fellowship exams, it’s your last chance to apply for the Practice Experience Program (PEP) under the current government funding scheme.

The rules around exam eligibility have changed, and only those enrolled in an RACGP-approved program such as the Australian General Practice Training Program, Remote Vocational Training Scheme or PEP Specialist Stream or those who have satisfactorily completed the PEP – Standard Stream will be eligible to sit.

Note: Places are limited and not all eligible applicants will be accepted into the program.

Applications are open from 10 January to 1 February 2022.

     Apply now     

The RACGP invites you to submit your research abstracts and clinical submissions for consideration for the GP22 conference program.

Our committee is looking for topics relevant to GPs in their everyday settings and presenters who will deliver innovative and interactive sessions. We’ll consider submissions for both the in-person and digital programs.

This is your opportunity to share your knowledge, skills and expertise with your colleagues.

The call for submissions will be open between 1 February and 15 March 2022.

You can find more information on the GP22 website from 1 February 2022.