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Message from the CEO
Dr Pat Giddings
Welcome to the Autumn 2022 edition of our Journeys e-newsletter!
Our thoughts are with those impacted by recent flood events throughout southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. We have extended our support to local registrars, supervisors and staff in these locations, but please reach out to us if you are in need of extra help.
Additionally, with war raging in eastern Europe, we echo the medical community’s calls for peace – and we encourage our RVTS family to reach out for support as needed.
2022 training year
We welcomed 26 registrars into our program at the commencement of training this year, with another three registrars commencing in late March. RVTS registrars are currently supporting 84 rural, remote and First Nations communities in six states across Australia!
New mid-year intake for RVTS training
In response to strong interest in the RVTS program, I am pleased to announce that RVTS will move to a mid-year training intake. We will reconfigure recruitment and selection from a single annual intake to two intakes per year. As a result, sixteen registrar positions for 2023 will be brought forward for the commencement of training in July this year.
Read more.
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Reflections from the ‘flight deck’:
Dr Pat Giddings on the past, present & future of RVTS
RVTS CEO, Dr Pat Giddings, caught the Rural Medicine bug early in his career when he went to the Victorian snowfields to work as a doctor (and perhaps to ski a bit!) He hasn’t looked back – and 21 years after first taking the helm at RVTS, he continues to be equally passionate about that too. Pat talked recently with Patrick Daley about his career and all things RVTS. Read more.
(Photo by Tim Hart on Unsplash).
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The Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) delivers
GP and Rural Generalist training to doctors in rural, remote
and First Nations communities across Australia.
Click here to read more about what we do.
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Delivered on time:
A truckie’s son…a future doctor
Back in the late ’90s, Geraint Lenegan used to deliver groceries with his semi-trailer to Aboriginal communities in remote Western Australia.
He didn’t know it then, but his ultimate delivery to remote WA would be his son, Jarrad, who – on school holidays – would often be sitting next to him in the cab on those long road trips up north.
Fast forward more than 20 years, and Dr Jarrad Lenegan is now an RVTS registrar working in Broome and Fitzroy Crossing while he undertakes his GP training toward ACRRM Fellowship. He was recently also appointed as the RVTS representative on ACRRM’s Registrar Committee. Read more.
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Congratulations to our recently Fellowed registrars!
FRACGP
Dr Adebola Adeiye
Dr Lushanth Aloysious
Dr Devika Mabula Arachchige
Dr Khaled Mohamed
Dr Yasmine Mohamed
Dr Alma Vaa
FACRRM
Dr Andre Sannazzaro
Dr Melanie Thomas
A number of RVTS registrars are currently awaiting conferral of Fellowship in the April to June period – we look forward to congratulating them in the next issue of Journeys!
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From counter insurgents to quiet rural nights:
One doctor’s passion for an outback town
RVTS alumni, Dr Sirisha Potti, had an adventurous start to her medical career, working as a doctor with the Indian Army in counter insurgency operations in the troubled regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
The change after arriving in Australia could not have been starker for her, swapping a conflict zone for a quiet town in a remote part of NSW.
Little did she know that she would fall in love with the town and the practice.
Read more.
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Recognising important events on the RVTS calendar
The month of March featured three important events on our calendar that are strongly embraced by RVTS and the wider RVTS family.
Please click here to read our reflection on the importance of these days to RVTS and our wider community.
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Exciting news!
Applications opening soon for our first (ever) mid-year intake!
In response to strong interest in the RVTS program, we are moving to a twice yearly intake of registrars!
As a result, sixteen registrar positions for 2023 will be brought forward for the commencement of training in July this year.
Approved locations for the next Targeted Recruitment intake – selected in partnership with the Rural Workforce Agencies, Federal Department of Health, health services and community groups – will be announced in the coming weeks.
Applications for our mid-year intake for 2022 will open on Monday 4 April through to 15 May. Training will commence in July-August 2022.
Visit rvts.org.au to find out more!
(Photo by Bruce Mars on Unsplash).
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There are certain presentations we see commonly as GPs. At this time of the year, with new GP registrars starting training, we know that the common can seem daunting to those new to general practice, and that common presentations have common pitfalls.
Check out Part 1 of our webinar on common GP presentations.
In this webinar excerpt from a few years ago, our Director of Training, Dr Ronda Gurney, discusses some common presentations with Dr Meryl Nicol, a previous RVTS registrar and now a member of our Medical Educator team.
In Part 1, they discuss three presentations that new GP registrars
will see frequently:
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A patient presenting for childhood immunisations
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A patient with acute or chronic lower back pain
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A patient with non-specific respiratory symptoms
Like to read more? You can click here to access more RVTS4GPs blog posts.
We also publish an RVTS4GPs Podcast – where you can download our blog posts to your mobile device! You can also subscribe to the RVTS4GPs podcast from your favourite podcast retrieval site. Click on one of the previous episodes to download an episode to your mobile device.
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An exciting start to the RVTS training year!
The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time, and 2022 has been no exception, writes RVTS’s Director of Training, Dr Ronda Gurney.
2022 has got off to a sprinting start, with the RVTS training year kicking off at the end of January. We’ve reconnected with previous cohorts after the festive season, and welcomed new registrars and supervisors into the RVTS family.
The enthusiasm and excitement in the breakout discussion groups at the 2022 orientation webinar and virtual workshop has set the tone for the year ahead – one of expectation and aspiration to achieve significant goals in the next 12 months.
The Education Team is set and ready to support our registrars to achieve the goal of becoming the best GP they can be in their rural, remote and First Nations community while on their journey to Fellowship.
Read more.
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Welcome to our new RLOs and SLOs
We warmly welcome Dr Emmon Mubbashir as our new Registrar Liaison Officer. Emmon commenced in the role on 1 January 2022, and will share RLO responsibilities with Dr Andre Sannazzaro for the coming year.
Thank you to Dr Leigh-Anne Bingham and Dr Mubashar Sherazi for their contribution as RLOs over the past two years – we wish them well in their post-Fellowship careers!
We would also like to warmly welcome Dr Akil Islam who commenced as our new Supervisor Liaison Officer on 1 January 2022.
Akil will join Dr Chris Carroll in the role, filling the position held by Dr Sara Fergusson for the past two years. Thank you to Sara for her contribution as an SLO, and we look forward to our continued association with her in her role as a Supervisor and PEP Medical Educator.
Thank you to all members of the wider RLO and SLO teams for their dedicated work in ensuring the lines of communication remain open between their respective cohorts and the RVTS Executive team.
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Work with us
 RVTS is always interested to hear from experienced GPs from all over Australia who would like to inspire and support the next generation of GPs in rural, remote and First Nations communities.
You can provide this support as a:
We are currently seeking to fill the following roles (please click on the roles for details):
Find out more about working for RVTS by clicking here.
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Meet our staff
Ever wondered who the person is behind the phone (or keyboard) at the RVTS office when you get in contact with us...whether they grew up in a rural area, what they did before they started working here, and maybe what their interests are outside work? Well here's your chance!
We've invited each of our RVTS administration and support staff to tell us a little more about themselves, and we've set up a page on our website where we are posting their responses as they come in.
To read our latest staff profiles click here!
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and want to subscribe?
We welcome the sharing of our quarterly e-newsletter with interested colleagues! If this edition has come to you from someone else, subscribe here and we will add you to our distribution list for the next edition.
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About our cover art
 “Walking Together” is an artwork created by artist Wendy Rix for RVTS, using our existing corporate colours. “Walking Together” represents the healing journey that RVTS undertakes with patients, doctors, health staff and communities. The artwork was commissioned in line with the RVTS Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and is 30x40cm acrylic on canvas. Wendy is a contemporary Indigenous visual artist living in Queensland, Australia. Her family are from Goodooga, New South Wales, and she is a descendant of the Yuwaalaraay people of that area. Wendy is a trained nurse, but painting is her passion. Read more at www.wensart.com.au.
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