The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

Comment has been sought from a range of people, discussions have been held with a range of stakeholders and feedback provided via the HWNZ and RNZCGP websites. Consistent themes that will form the basis of recommendations for a revised programme include: 

• acknowledging the need to strengthen aspects of GP training in order to have a workforce capable of contributing to new models of healthcare delivery including -
  • more care delivered in community settings,
  • more inter-disciplinary working,
  • changes in the role of the doctor, and
  • greater integration of services delivered in community and institutional settings,
• valuing the existing community and patient-focussed basis of general practice
• ensuring the first stage of vocational training continues to be centred on practice in GP settings,
• building formal mechanisms for GPs (trainees and Fellows) to develop and maintain advanced competencies in areas of their choosing,
• supporting greater exposure of GP trainees to some hospital-based practice (and vice versa, hospital-based trainees to have exposure to community-based training),
• moving towards greater equity between GP and DHB employed registrar terms and conditions,
• supporting better use of resources across the entirety of GP training (ie current GPEP1 and GPEP2) and ensuring the requisite infrastructure and support is in place, and
• ensuring that GPEP has a high degree of flexibility to meet the needs of individual trainees and specific communities.

Work is proceeding on developing an advanced competency module for mental health/psychiatry in collaboration with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP). A module for care of the elderly will be developed this year in conjunction with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP).

A paper is being developed on wider changes to GPEP which will go out to the sector later this year. A date for this is not yet confirmed but is likely to be around April/May.

The paper will reflect the discussions to date in the form of a proposed concept/model. More detailed work on design and implementation will follow the paper, subject to feedback from the wider sector and subsequent decisions by the RNZCGP, HWNZ and the MCNZ

Work is underway on augmenting the existing bursary model (for 2012) in respect to the employment and remuneration of GPEP1 registrars so that it is as close as possible to conditions of other registrars. Work continues on achieving equivalence across all registrars regardless of the setting in which they are training.

We will continue to keep you updated on progress. Comments and queries in the interim should be emailed through to the College.