Dr Zhong Ren Ong
What is rural generalism?
A rural generalist is a medical practitioner that works in rural areas utilising general practice, emergency and other medical specialist skill sets matched to the needs of the local community they serve. A formal definition of a rural generalist was agreed on in February 2018 through the Collingrove Agreement. The skills provided by a rural generalists can vary depending on the needs of the community they service creating a mechanism to address the discrepancy between health outcomes in urban and rural communities. Additional skill sets could be in obstetrics through to palliative care, surgery and anaesthetics or emergency medicine to name a few. This patient and community centred approach gives the community access to a broader range of health care options improving health outcomes.
Dr Nikki Pennifold
About the RGPSA
The Rural Generalist Program SA (RGPSA) was introduced to coincide with the commencement of the 2021 training year. The RGPSA coordinates and builds on existing training structures and services for the delivery of medical training across rural and remote SA. The program supports coordinated delivery of training via end to end training networks to increase the uptake of rural training positions and to ultimately link them to post-training employment in rural areas. The program enables junior doctors to undertake the full complement of post-graduate training within a region, internship through to fellowship with a view to increasing attraction, training and retention for a skilled and sustainable rural medical workforce.
Dr Keren Wu
Related programs
Rural generalist training can be accessed through a number of programs and funding streams at both the national and state levels that provide the opportunity for doctors to practise comprehensive medicine in rural South Australian communities.
Programs include:
- Road 2 Rural (R2R) and More Doctors for Rural Australia Program (MDRAP) through the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency (RDWA)
- Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) through both RACGP and ACRRM and funded through the Commonwealth Government of Australia
- Australian General Practice Training Program (AGPT) funded through the Commonwealth Government and delivered by ACRRM and RACGP
- Independent Pathway (IP) is a self-funded pathway option through ACRRM