General practice training - what lies ahead?

Prof Kidd said that there were many challenges for general practice in the years ahead.

“It is clear that the enhanced apprenticeship model of general practice training has served Australia well, but by its very nature the apprentice ends up cast in the mould of the master,” Prof Kidd said.

“General practice training must allow registrars to develop into what they need to be to best meet the future health care needs of their patients and their communities.

“It also appears that a focus on competency-based training is inevitable if we are to produce a sufficient number of GPs with the right skills to meet Australia’s evolving health needs.

“At the same time as the vertical integration model needs to be reinforced across undergraduate and postgraduate medical training, better horizontal links must be established with other craft groups.

“Perhaps the future lies not in a single, rigid pipeline that delivers a fully trained – yet somewhat startled – new GP to an area of medical workforce need, but in acknowledging that there are multiple ways in which each new doctor can acquire, to established end points, the competencies required for safe, independent and appropriate general practice.”

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.

The statements or opinions that are expressed in the MJA reflect the views of the authors and do not represent the official policy of the AMA unless that is so stated.

CONTACT:                 Prof Michael Kidd                                            0414 573 065

                               Mr Peter Gill                                                   0417 784 044
                               Flinders University Media Unit