Australian Medical Schools meet to discuss the future of general practice education, training and student education

Hosted by GPRA President, Dr Chris Dickie, Heads of Departments from all Australian medical schools met to discuss general practice education, training and student engagement, particularly with each medical school's general practice student network clubs.

At this inaugural roundtable, 13 Heads of Departments from medical schools across Australia met to discuss the future of general practice education, training and student education.

The main topics of discussion were:

  1. General Practice Education Across Universities
    Universities shared information about their GP placement models and common challenges encountered. Several universities are expanding GP exposure into earlier years and integrating research opportunities using electronic medical records.
  2. Rural Medical Placements
    Rural intern numbers are declining at some locations despite strong support systems and high-quality training. Research shows that short rural placements can positively influence future rural practice. There is opportunity for individual medical schools to connect with rural locations and promote rural internships to their students.
  3. Supervision and Training Quality
    Supporting GP supervisors through CPD, mentoring and recognition plays an important role in shaping students’ career choices. Upskilling GP registrars and strengthening vertical integration between rural clinical schools and colleges is an option.
  4. Integration of GPSN Clubs
    GPSN clubs often operate independently of University general practice departments. This could be remedied through regular meetings between faculty and club presidents, formal handover processes, involving reps in meetings and joint event planning.
  5. Funding and Recognition
    Better funding integration is needed between GPSN and University medical student associations to ensure sustainability, engagement and visibility. Events like a GP fun day could help elevate and promote general practice to all medical students.