Annual Report - ntgpe

Report from the Chairperson of the BoardNTGPE has had another good year with a strong teamdelivering good results. Dr Hung The Nguyen hasmoved to Melbourne but has agreed to continue to leadthe Education team. I am personally extremely gratefulto Hung for his commitment to the Northern Territoryand the academic leadership he has and continues toprovide during this period of growth and broader focus.His national profile in Aboriginal Health and educationalsupport for international medical graduates puts him ina special category of Australian doctors.During 2010, NTGPE hosted and helped organise thesuccessful GPET convention in Alice Springs which waswell attended. I had the pleasure of seeing many of theNTGPE team in action and was particularly impressedwith Kevin Parriman and Richard Fejo in leading adiscussion on cultural education titled “Lotus and pearls– bringing culture to GP education”. This reflects theincreasingly important role of the Cultural Educationteam in health care and throughout government inthe NT. Tamsin Cockayne’s poem capturing a youngpregnant woman’s and her GP’s experience of theintervention had a large audience in tears – rescuedby Richard Hosking’s humble and extraordinary storiesof working in Port Keats. These two presentations putNTGPE in very good light. After an impromptu ‘Henley onTodd’, which nearly caused our team serious damage,our very own band, Simon and the GPettes, brought thecrowd to their feet at the wonderful outside dinner atthe Telegraph station.NTGPE is leading a move to a more responsible andautonomous RTP approach, working with both Collegesto manage accreditation, develop new relevant modelsof supervision, and attract more resources for studentsand registrars to the NT. Thirteen registrars graduatedwith the FRACGP in 2010. Further, more registrars areseeking joint Fellowships from ACRRM and the RACGP.The number of PGPPP places has increased greatly butwe still have problems with freeing up young doctorsfrom the understaffed RDH. Over 70% of our juniordoctors go on to join GP training throughout Australia.Infrastructure support is expanding with the additionof 3 houses in remote communities bringing the list ofmanaged dwellings to thirty three.The focus for 2011 will be on developing the trainingresources of practices and the experience for registrars.Collaboration with other providers is essential to ensurethat the NT can deliver on the challenges of the newmedical school and increased PGPPP placements inan environment where there is a shortage of doctors.Flinders, CDU and NTGPE can make a real difference ifthe level of collaboration is deep and uncompromising.Trust is a necessary precursor and the Board willbe doing everything to try to generate a positiveenvironment for change.This year we will see members of the national GPETBoard undergoing cultural immersion training ledby Ada Parry and attracting CPD points for the GPmembers. I hope this will further add to our kudosand strengthen our reputation as an education centreof national importance. It will be an exciting year aswe begin to form relationships with the new MedicalSchool and revitalise our committed supervisorsand other GP practice members to participate in theextraordinarily rewarding work of training and retainingyoung doctors in the NT. Our community depends on usbeing successful.Dr Samuel HeardIndependent ChairpersonNTGPE Board6 Northern Territory General Practice Education