Dave BellAccessing an excellent pool of motivated doctors via the RACGP Specialist Pathway (Partially Comparable)
Have you had exposure to GPs who are eligible for the RACGP Specialist Pathway (Partially Comparable) in your rural practice yet?
We’ve had some great success, with this route providing some very qualified and motivated candidates.
We believe that this is a key avenue to rebuild the General Practice workforce, and we’ve set up internal processes to recruit and register these doctors to be able to join your team.
In recent years, the RACGP has assessed a number of international family medicine specialist qualifications as being comparable to FRACGP.
This has opened opportunities for us to bring a wealth of experienced candidates to help with our GP shortage.
Effectively, candidates on this pathway hold these restrictions:
The RACGP now recognises several Specialist Qualifications as being Partially Comparable https://doctorconnect.blog/SpecPath, thus allowing them to access the PEP Specialist Pathway.
RACGP has thoroughly vetted their training and experience, so that we can be comfortable that these SIMG GPs, have suitable Family Medicine experience and qualifications so they don’t need to sit the AMC exam, don’t need to sit a PESCI, and don’t need the suffocating level 1 supervision.
In terms of the candidate’s requirement from the practice, the only differences between these Partially Comparable candidates and the Substantially Comparable (ie. the NHS vocationally trained MRCGPs) is that this Partially Comparable group of candidates must work in MM2, and they have to sit their exams to attain Fellowship.
We’ve worked extensively with these candidates over the past two years, and they are, as a whole, very capable Family Physicians who have at least similar years of experience to Australian GPs who have completed vocational training. As with any group of clinicians, some are more committed to core General Practice patients, while others have many years of experience and offer knowledge around sub-specialties including emergency, chronic disease, teaching, and leadership.
In working with GP jobs in Australia since 2010, this is the single biggest positive change that we can imagine.
Rather than competing with other practices, or other towns for a diminishing pool of VR GPs, and rather than the monetary and supervision cost of relocating hospital doctors for the MDRAP or FSP program, these doctors have been verified by the RACGP as being Comparable, and so suitable for the Specialist Pathway. https://doctorconnect.blog/SpecPathw
Our company has worked hard to develop relationships with this candidate group, and we now have a pool of active and committed candidates.
The great news for the candidates is that they are able to consider a new opportunity to fulfil their dream of living in Australia that previously wasn’t available.
We’re typically working with people in the middle of their careers, who are looking for a community to settle with families.
As with any group, they have some similar basic requirements, and others have different requirements.
They all need to be in an MM2-7 location, and to have the support of a practice with a Fellowed GP who can offer level3 supervision (level3 supervision can be remote, the SIMG is responsible for the patient), for the first 1 – 2 years.
Some GPs have family and cultural commitments that mean they may aim to be in a town of a certain size with a primary school or a highschool, or to have access to community groups, or place of worship.
We’ve met with all candidates who we are working with and explain the basics of General Practice in Australia, including general discussion around contracts and income. We work to make sure that when you meet them, they have realistic expectations, including that some practices offer perks including accommodation and, sign-on bonus, and that other practices don’t offer these as part of their business model. Its worth understanding that these doctors will spend at least $20,000 in registration processes with AHPRA, RACGP and immigration, before paying for airfares, and that they may be coming from a health system where doctors are not as well paid, so: if your practice is able to give some financial assistance, then this will be much appreciated.
Doctor costs listed here Registration Overview, and here Immigration Overview including costs
We work with the doctors to ensure they have reasonable expectations of the move, and emphasise that this can be a great opportunity, but that it may be important for them to be able to compromise at some point.
We have many years experience in rural and remote GP practice, and working with similar candidates, so have a good understanding of what will make this match successfull.
We are working with doctors from this pool available to join your practice. This will play an important part in bringing balance to the Australian Rural GP workforce, and equity in the provision of primary healthcare.
Please let us know if you would like to further discuss working with us with these candidates. We would be very grateful to be able to work with you to make sure that you are able to find a doctor with the right skills, personality and commitment to be a part of your practice for many years to come.
We’d love to meet up with you to discuss this.
A true partnership approach and sole point of contact dedicated to providing a tailored, permanent General Practitioner recruitment solution.
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