• 
  Clinical independence
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  Choice of locations
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  Modern Clinics
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  Career Development
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  Work life balance
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  Excellent rates of pay
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  Family orientated positions

Support For GP’s

State Divisions of General Practice (Metropolitan)

Divisions of General Practice were established by the Australian Government to deal with national issues, such as those that relate to general practitioners in the health care system. Divisions provide a structure to address issues at a local, state and national level and also support general practitioners to improve primary health care in the community.

There are 120 Divisions of General Practice across Australia, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. These are membership organisations whose task is to act as a central support base for, and to provide coordination and support in their efforts to improve the health of the population of their local area. Doctors are always welcome to contact their local Division.

Information on the Divisions of General Practice can be found at: www.gp.org.au.  

Rural Health Workforce Australia

Rural Health Workforce Australia is the peak body who represent the seven Rural Workforce Agencies which recruit and support rural and remote GPs in each state and the Northern Territory.

There are a number of services that are supplied to rural and remote GP’s through the Workforce Agencies:

• Provision of information on rural practice and opportunities to students, graduates, registrars and practitioners
• Assistance to navigate doctors through the system including registration, obtaining provider numbers and immigration
• Provision of relocation assistance and relocation grants
• Orientation of Overseas Trained Doctors to rural Australia
• Delivery of family support programs
• Provision of up skilling training and grants for rural doctors
• Delivery of a variety of education and training programs for rural doctors including emergency skills
• Provision of locum services
• Workforce planning and national rural general practice minimum data set collation and analysis
• Assistance to communities to develop sustainable health services
• Policy input and advice on rural health service issues and needs
• Collaborative working relationships with education providers, rural health services, Divisions of General Practice, government and community organisations

Each state/territory has a Rural Workforce Agency with similar roles and programs. For more information and to access the links to each state agency please visit http://www.rhwa.org.au/site/index.cfm?display=36847.  

Australian Medical Association (AMA)

The AMA is an independent association which represents more than 27,000 doctors nationally whether salaried or in private practice, general practitioners and specialists, teachers and researchers or young doctors. It is a broad political body, which aims to protect the academic, professional and economic independence and well being of medical practitioners.

Members of the AMA are committed to ensuring professional values, excellence in teaching and research, and the delivery of high quality health care to all Australians, regardless of gender, political beliefs or geographic location.

For more information please visit www.ama.com.au.  

Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) is the main professional association for rural medical education and training in Australia. It is responsible for setting standards for rural medicine as a separate and distinct discipline. ACRRM’s core function is to determine and uphold the standards that define and govern competent unsupervised rural and remote medical practice. It is committed to providing sound training and continuing medical education.

Continuing Professional Development is available to rural doctors through the ACRRM Professional Development Program that includes Rural and Remote Medical Education Online (RRMEO).

For further information, refer to the ACRRM website at: http://www.acrrm.org.au.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is the professional organisation that focuses on the safety and quality of general practice through education, training and research.

The College’s mission is to improve health and wellbeing for all Australians by supporting general practitioners, registrars and medical students by assessing doctors skills and knowledge, supplying ongoing professional development activities, developing resources and guidelines and helping general practitioners with issues that affect their practice.

There are three levels of membership:

• Associateship – eligible for admission as an Associate if you are a registered medical practitioner
• Membership – eligible if you have a minimum of seven years postgraduate experience of which five years, or its part-time equivalents to a maximum of 10 years, must be in general practice, or hold specified qualifications (see website for details); or
• RACGP Fellowship

For further information on the RACGP please visit their website at http://www.racgp.org.au.