Nine months after being left out of a deal between the NSW/ACT RTO and the RACGP, ACRRM has begun training registrars in the region.
Almost 100 GP registrars training in rural or remote NSW and ACT are now the first cohort to make the jump to college-led training.
ACRRM announced today that the responsibility for training its 96 NSW/ACT doctors – which, up until this point, fell to Regional Training Organisation GP Synergy – had been successfully transferred back to the college.
The early move was decided on in January this year and is unique to ACRRM trainees in NSW and ACT.
RACGP registrars who are with GP Synergy and ACRRM registrars in other states and territories will remain with their RTO until the handover to college-led training in 2023.
Late last year, the rural college expressed surprise and disappointment after learning that GP Synergy had entered a strategic partnership with the RACGP.
While the RTO still had the contract for training AGPT ACRRM registrars for this year, the RACGP became its sole member.
ACRRM president Dr Sarah Chalmers told The Medical Republic in January that the decision to transition NSW and ACT registrars ahead of schedule was made independently of the RACGP-GP Synergy deal.
Today, Dr Chalmers thanked GP Synergy for its work in training 33 ACRRM AGPT fellows over the past six years and said that this was the first step into a new era for rural generalist training.
“We are ready and excited to welcome this group of ACRRM registrars from the rural and remote areas of NSW and the ACT, and to supporting all aspects of their training directly through the College,” Dr Chalmers said.
“We have established regional training support teams to provide registrars, supervisors, and training posts with the knowledge, opportunities and resourcing they need throughout their fellowship journey.”
The 96 ACRRM registrars and their supervisors will join the college’s existing independent fellowship program in NSW and ACT, which it has run for 15 years.
RTOs in other states and territories have until February next year to make the transition to college-led training.
GP Synergy chair Dr Ian Kamerman, who is also the newly-minted chair of the AMA Council of Rural Doctors, said the handover had been a positive, smooth experience.
“Staff from all levels of both organisations have been working closely together since the agreement to an early transition of the NSW and ACT ACRRM AGPT program was reached,” he said.
“Together, they have worked through complex logistical issues to ensure a seamless, uninterrupted training experience for the 96 NSW and ACT ACRRM registrars, 185 supervisors and 171 training facilities.”
