Supported GP training in Aboriginal health in the heart of Australia

GP Registrar, Rural Generalist - Central Australia

At Congress you will learn about offering primary medical care in a supportive environment and amongst a diverse and integrated team of health practitioners, many of whom will have a wealth of experience in our setting. Comprehensive primary care and community control are the distinctive features of our service which provides for the Aboriginal population of Alice Springs and out to thousands of people over thousands of square kilometres in beautiful Central Australia.

Applications:

Applications are open for town, remote and mixed positions from Kaltukatjara in the far west, Mutitjulu, Yulara, Utju, Imanpa, Alice Springs, Amoonguna and Santa Teresa in the east.

There are 6 clinics in Alice Springs itself, including 4 modern primary care centres, Ingkintja’s male only health service and Alukura’s women-only health service.

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Working with an integrated team of Aboriginal health practitioners, nurses, Aboriginal liaison officers and CSOs as well as the full range of Allied health professionals enables the provision of a wide range of services and approaches to health care.

Congress has its own NDIS engagement service, nurse outreach in pregnancy and early years, child health support, midwifery group practice, frail aged and disability service, renal support as well as a broad range of social and emotional wellbeing services.

You will be part of a team that is “going the extra mile” to enable our clients to have better health outcomes.

Alice Springs is home to the Centre for Remote Health, and Congress has developed a further range of learning opportunities for doctors. First, we support general practice registrars enrolled in training with the RACGP or ACRRM. We are happy to be involved in as much of your training as you would like, across diverse settings and with different teams. Whether the focus is primary care, or advanced skills training, Congress is an ideal location to become a fully-fledged general practitioner.

Our rural generalist training – Advanced Training in Remote Aboriginal Health – has been developed with Flinders University and is accepted by the RACGP and ACRRM and open to registrars, or specialist general practitioners at any point in their training.

Registrars benefit from group learning opportunities weekly in house, as well as external learning opportunities provided by the Colleges.

A supportive and safe educational environment has been created to ensure positive learning outcomes are achieved to allow continued professional development and emphasis on clinical up-skilling through hands-on clinical practice in addition to formal training and recommended post-graduate study opportunities. 

Working with Central Australian Aboriginal Congress not only offers rewarding career options, but a wide range of employee benefits, including:

  • Six (6) weeks’ annual leave
  • Generous salary packaging to provide tax free rent or mortgage payments, electricity and travel costs.
  • Access to the Congress health services for you and your family at no cost
  • District allowance and Remote Benefits
  • Additional leave and benefits for remote placements

The PHN Northern Territory Health Professional Relocation Grant is available to assist and support health professionals relocating to the Northern Territory. This grant can help with the costs of things like household removals, flights, transport and other related expenses.

In addition, candidates relocating for the program will receive rent assistance of up to $200 per week throughout their two year contract!

Clinical Pathways

Two distinctive clinical pathways are on offer. The first is for registrars training in primary care or undertaking skills training. The second is advanced training available for registrars seeking recognition as rural generalists. This second option is available to GPs at any stage in their careers with support from NT PHN which provides extended access to educational opportunities.

  • A structured 3 year program is funded by the Department of Health and delivered through the RACGP (optional 4th year) or ACRRM (compulsory 4th year) aiming to provide Fellowship and recognition as a specialist GP with access to the higher Medicare items. During this time the registrar will spend up to 18 months in primary care with 6 or 12 months at Congress.

    The GPs at Congress have a wealth of experience supervising and supporting registrars seeking to become GPs and Rural Generalists in their primary care training. An individual supervisor will meet with you each week, and you will participate in 1.5 hrs of group training on a weekly basis. You will also have a half day release each week and 2 3 day workshops.

This training opportunity has been developed by Flinders and Congress and is documented below. It qualifies for an advanced skill training suitable for rural generalism.

Want more info? 

Remote work is challenging but very rewarding. Accommodation is provided in community, along with transport allowing you to get to and from the community on days off. While working in remote communities, your roster will include being available for major health problems to support our team of remote area nurses (RANs) and Aboriginal health practitioners on site or via the phone. We are working with ANU to make remote video consultations after hours the usual first call, only involving the local staff if problems cannot be resolved.

Check out Congress’ remote clinics. 

You will have access to:

  • Remote Emergency Skills Training (REST)
  • Ultrasound training
  • Maternity Emergency Course
  • 4WD Driver Training Course
  • Other relevant professional development

To be eligible to apply for GP Training with Congress in Central Australia you must:  

  • Hold current full registration as a medical practitioner with the Australian Health Professional Registration Authority
  • Be enrolled in training with the RACGP or ACRRM as a registrar or as a GP seeking advanced training
  • Commit to a 6-month term for registrar training and 12 months for advanced training

Positions in the program are limited.

You must apply online. In your application you are required to provide the following:

  1. Responses to the questions asked through the online application
  2. A cover letter detailing your interest, skills and experience relevant to the program. It must also address in no more than 250 words the following statement:

As a registrar or trainee, how would you contribute to and support Congress’ values and vision while delivering care in the cultural context of Central Australia?

(You can learn about Congress’ values and vision here)

  1. A current resume providing an overview of your education and work experience.
  2. Details of two nominated referees. These must be registered doctors directly involved in supervising you in clinical roles.

Note: All documents (ie. Resume and cover letter) should be uploaded in a single file (? Compressed).