Heather Saxena GPs with special interests |
and education of GPs with special interest areas will be |
qualification and would therefore not appear on the |
been created at the request of college members who |
|
can pay $ 1350 to have their |
assessed by two or three GPs |
AHPRA register . |
want their additional |
|
skills formally recognised |
who have already had their |
The college currently |
training and education |
|
by the RACGP . |
skills recognised . |
has 37 specific interest |
recognised , said RACGP |
|
The college ’ s “ extended |
The GP must be at least |
groups , with more than |
vice-president Dr Bruce |
|
skills certificate ” will initially |
five years post-fellowship |
12,000 members . |
Willett . |
|
cover five special interest |
before they apply and must |
So far , 30 GPs have |
“ It reflects the tension |
|
areas : dermatology , psycho- |
also provide a portfolio |
applied for the certificate , |
between being a college for |
|
logical medicine , addiction |
and supporting evidence , |
with the RACGP hoping to |
generalists and also rec- |
|
medicine , integrative medi- |
including three case studies |
attract 100 applications in |
ognising that a lot of our |
|
Dr Bruce Willett . |
cine and developmental disability medicine .
The experience , training
|
of their care . The RACGP said the certificate was not a |
the first year . The certificate — developed over six years — has |
members want recognition for their special interest areas that they have developed |
,” he said . |
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Dr Willett stressed the |
||||
intention is to recognise GPs |
||||
who still see general practice |
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patients , in addition to |
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those presenting with conditions |
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relevant to their |
||||
special interest area , rather |
||||
than GPs working exclusively |
||||
in one area — skin |
||||
cancer , for example . |
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Other GPs and their |
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patients would also benefit |
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, he added , with the rise |
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in GPs with special interests |
||||
seen as an opportunity |
||||
to create more GP-to-GP |
||||
referrals . |
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“ In my practice , we have |
||||
a lot of GPs with a special |
||||
interest , and we do a lot of |
||||
intra-practice referrals . |
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‘ There are lots of members who want to develop these skills .’ |
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“ I actually believe this is |
||||
a way to avoid fragmentation |
||||
of care . Intra-practice referral |
||||
is a big part of this . These |
||||
patients would otherwise go |
||||
out and see a subspecialist |
||||
somewhere else . |
||||
“ If it is a GP-to-GP referral |
||||
, then the usual clinical |
||||
handover , referral letter |
||||
and referral letter back |
||||
apply . |
||||
“ That is certainly what |
||||
has happened with the |
||||
GP-to-GP referrals I have |
||||
done . And of course , the |
||||
reality is , if that does not |
||||
happen , they will not get |
||||
the referrals .” |
||||
A self-confessed “ committed |
||||
generalist ”, Dr |
||||
Willett said he had come |
||||
around to supporting recognition |
||||
of GPs ’ special |
||||
interests . |
||||
“ Traditionally , I thought |
||||
GPs should be GPs . But |
||||
there are lots of members |
||||
who want to develop |
||||
these skills , and I am now |
||||
convinced that someone |
||||
who has a generalist view |
||||
but who also has specialist |
||||
skills can add a lot to |
||||
patient management ,” he |
||||
|
said .
“ People have often done
|
||||
a lot of work , and they want |
||||
the recognition that they |
||||
have done it .” |
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BH6205 Utrogestan Bill Ledger ADG A4 ad _ TRACED . indd 1 |
8 / 9 / 2023 9:01 am |