Doctors keep coming back! - ntgpe

GP Trainers Workshop - Camel Farm Alice Springs June 2005Trainer Tracks Trainer Liaison Officer UpdateFor those of youunable to attend therecent Trainers’ workshopin Darwin – YOU MISSEDOUT ! If only because ofthe Saturday night dinner atCrustaceans (best seafoodmany of us had experiencedfor quite some time ) includingthe view, preceded by theharbour cruise and, of course,the company throughout, thebar has been raised. Makenext year’s workshop(s) adate for your diaries. Apartfrom the social side whichled to a high demandfor coffee and water,particularly from theearly presenters, thefollowing morning,we were fortunateto benefit from theexpertise of Dr FrankMeumann, experiencedME & now CEO ofTasmanian GeneralPractice Training,who used the NTGPETrainers as guineapigs to trial his wellrenownedsession onnegotiation skills ona group ofsupervisorsfor the firsttime. I amsure all ofus gainedmuch to be used in futuresituations as a result, whetherwhen dealing with Registrars,employers, staff, patients oreven our own children ! Ifany Trainer would like to geta hold of resources from thesession there are some copiesstill remaining at the Darwinoffice. Thanks again Frank andwell done ! our second daywas shared between cultural& business issues. Ada Parry,Cultural Mentor, and KevParriman, Cultural Educator,kindly gave up a deal of theirtime and shared a greatamount of their knowledge,experience and advice infacilitating what proved to bea most valuable, ostensiblyquestion and answer sessionfrom which all of the Trainersbenefited hugely. Thanks againto both – the informal approachand setting allowed us to feelcomfortable in voicing manyof our cultural difficulties anduncertainties, not an easy taskto facilitate when dealing witha group of Trainers who havesuch widespread experienceand experiences.Finally a number of issuesarose from the PrivateBusiness Session whichconcluded the workshop.These will be communicatedseparately in due course,including those to be discussedby the board. However,amongst those into whichTrainer input would beparticularly valuable, areNTGPE’s new and customisedTrainers manual ( which hasbeen circulated both at thePBS and via email – let meknow if you haven’t beenincluded in the loop ) and a setof Key Performance Indicatorsby which we as Trainers canassess the value that NTGPEadds to GP Training as a whole– these have not yet beendeveloped beyond merelybroad headings so if any of youwish to contribute or becomemore deeply involved, againyou know how to find me(nigel.gray@ntgpe.org - (08)8952 3518 or 0427 003805 ).Looking ahead I ammoving towards completionof the data collection phasein my research looking at GPTrainers’ perspectives on GPRegistrars’ training outcomeswith trips to Gove & Katherineplanned for October. If anyTrainers, except those in Alicewho I’ll probably get to last,have not been contacted,please let me know and I’llmake arrangements.Finally we have our nextteleconference scheduledfor December. I feel maybewe should be looking at moreclinical content within thesein future and would welcomeyour views, at both a generaland specific level, as to itemsfor inclusion. So thanks againfor your support. Receivingthe kind of positive feedbackforthcoming throughout theworkshop helps to make therole that much more rewardingand sustainable. Which ispretty important - after all, itcould be your turn one day !Nigel GrayTrainer Liaison OfficerNorthern Territory General Practice Education - Newsletter Page 7