May 2022

In April, an article in a prominent newspaper mentioned a call from the AMA Victoria to the Victorian Government about getting to work on improving clinical handovers from hospitals to GPs to enhance the care of patients leaving hospitals.

At the RACGP Victoria Faculty Council strategic planning day at the start of 2021, we voted to launch a project to address precisely this issue. We established a Clinical Handover Working Group that, since February 2021, has been meeting regularly to scope the issues with clinical handovers and develop recommendations that our faculty and the wider college can use to facilitate improvements. The group membership includes members of RACGP Victoria, Victorian GPs and many of the state’s GP liaison officers from both public and private hospitals.

So far, the group has made four key recommendations, and our faculty manager Kon Kakris, faculty staff member Jane Sprague and I will meet with Marina Malcolm, Vahid Masoumi and Jennifer Anderson of the working group to develop a project plan to submit to Safer Care Victoria for consideration.

Clinical handovers in Victoria have been in our line of sight for a long time, and we’re working hard to be part of the solution. We’ll keep you updated on how the project progresses.

RACGP Victoria is also very excited to be working hard with the RACGP Events team on our long-awaited conference, GP22. We’re going to create an absolute ripper of a conference for our members, in celebration of who you are, what you do, what you’ve accomplished and what our future can be. Please get excited with us, friends, and when registrations open, book your spot at GP22.

Dr Anita Muñoz
Chair, Victoria Faculty

What an exciting time it is with the return of our in-person member events. We just ran five Fellowship ceremonies (including one virtual), our New Fellows Committee wellbeing weekend and a musculoskeletal workshop, and that’s just the beginning of an exciting year of member events. Read below for more on what’s coming up soon including the WiGP conference, Brainy Women: A healthy mind and body.

Information and updates from some of our stakeholders:

• Skin Health Institute clinical trials – recruitment now open
• WorkSafe Victoria facilitated discussion information and resources
• Public Health Order #18 flu medicines authorisation – residential aged care facilities, approved

Finally, welcome to two more new staff members who have recently joined the RACGP Victoria team:

• Catherine (Jovi) Stuart, Education Development Administrator
• Sanya Gandhi, Examinations Officer

Kon Kakris,
State Manager

The RACGP and the Rural Workforce Agency of Victoria are offering an additional 25 fully funded scholarships to Victorian GPs in MMM3–7 locations to do the RACGP’s Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS) Skills Training.

The course is delivered through a combination of online technology, peer-group learning and locally available resources, including:

• the latest best practice for antidepressant prescribing and non-pharmacology treatment options
• cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to treat common issues like depression and anxiety
• support to begin applying CBT-derived FPS counselling to your patients
• mental health carer and consumer perspectives.

Dates:

• 11 July – 14 October 2022
• 15 August – 18 November 2022
• 19 September – 23 December 2022

    Register now    

You’re invited to participate in a free online training program to build your skills in responding to and recognising the signs of domestic and family violence.

This essential, evidence-based CPD training program is the result of the findings of Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence, held in Victoria, which recommended professional development training in family and domestic violence for GPs.

Earn up to 40 CPD points and join like-minded GPs, medical professionals and healthcare workers as they share, discuss and develop knowledge of family violence via peer-group learning activities.

Upcoming sessions
28 May 2022, 11.00 am (AEST) 1 June 2022, 6.00 pm (AEST)	5 July 2022, 10.00am (AEST) 8 July 2022, 1.00pm (AEST)

 

    Get more information    

Are you a GP in northern metropolitan Melbourne with patients aged 50–64 years who:

• are living with chronic health issues
• have social, physical or mental health needs that affect daily life
• want to improve their overall wellbeing
• are willing to connect with and maintain social connections?

You can socially prescribe into the Living Well, Ageing Well program at Merri Health.

    Find out more    

Congratulations to our Victoria New Fellows

RACGP Victoria congratulates the following Victorian GPs who attained Fellowship of the RACGP in the last month:

Dr Mohanad Abody Dr Faraz Ahmad Dr Asfiya Asha Dr Julia Bridge Dr Catherine Burrows Dr Mei En Chee Dr Jessalynn Chia Dr Elizabeth Dai Dr Juen Li Ding Dr Michael Dobson Dr Rachel Driscoll Dr Su Mei Goh Dr Belal Haniffa Dr Zahid Iqbal Dr Hakamjit Kang Dr Rupali Kashyap Dr Raheleh Khodabandehloueinasr Dr Talvika Kooblal Dr Caleb Lim Dr Erin Linley Dr Edward Mulvey

Dr Jeremy Nakulski Dr Emma O'Donoghue Dr Greta Perovic Dr Baseerat Qureshi Dr Dedu Rathnayake Dr Bethany Reynolds Dr Tom Rodley Dr Gary Rodrigues Dr Ella Rose Dr Khadeeja Saleem Dr Nurjamal Shambetova Dr Mustafa Shefaju Dr Ozge Tanrikut Dr Carmen Traill Dr Vidhya Uddaiyar Dr Sharee Walford Dr Amy Wong Ten Yuen Dr Heidi Woolford Dr Claudia Xiao Dr Mahmoud Youssef Dr Beata Zoltkowski

RACGP-led delivery of the AGPT Program from 1 February 2023 will provide consistent training, greater flexibility, less administrative burden and more GPs where they’re needed.

This month, we've:

• continued negotiating our funding submission with the Department of Health
• held workshops to determine organisational design and delivery, including the critical needs for our live date of 1 February
• continued consultation activities on our education policy framework, core education plan and AGPT handbooks
• conducted webinars for registrars and supervisors
• finalised the syllabus and curriculum
• worked with GP Synergy, Walgett AMS and Norfolk Island to prepare for the remote supervision placements starting in August
• filmed video resources for the online components of the supervisor professional development program
• completed our transition plan to enable Fellowship of Advanced Rural General Practice holders and candidates to convert to the rural generalist qualification.

Visit our website for more updates on college-led training or to use our transition feedback form.

Calling all GPs in training! The RACGP academic post program is a unique opportunity for you to incorporate academic work into your career as a GP by building your skills in research, teaching and critical thinking.

Completed at the same time as the clinical training component, a 12-month academic post term allows you to learn academic skills through individualised learning plans with mentoring and support from skilled training providers, universities and the RACGP. 

Visit the RACGP website to view the application guide or get more information on how to apply.

Australian Volunteers International  (AVI) is looking for a general medicine registrar to volunteer as an intern supervisor in the 370-bed National Referral Hospital, Solomon Islands, for 4–6 months.

The successful candidate will:

• provide clinical supervision to the interns completing their rotation through the Internal Medicine unit
• support senior departmental staff to develop and implement initiatives to provide clinical supervision to interns
• contribute to formal teaching sessions for medical education within the hospital
• model best-practice care for patients.

Contact Michael Langley, International Projects Coordinator, at mlangley@avi.org.au or 0400 769 833 with any questions, or find out more on the AVI website.