The Medical Journal of Australia – Supplement

RVTS – Growing and sustaining doctors in rural, remote and First Nations communities

Volume 221, Issue 7 Supplement | The Medical Journal of Australia (mja.com.au)

Learn more about the positive findings from the recent external evaluation of the Remote Vocational Training Scheme investigating the value of program outcomes and the effectiveness of its remote supervision and support model.

The culmination of six months of detailed work by the evaluation team led by Dr Belinda O’Sullivan and A/Prof Matthew McGrail (The University of Queensland), provides a strong evidence base on which to build a continuing and expanded role for the organisation beyond 2025.

The wealth of qualitative and quantitative data has informed five articles shared in the MJA supplement.  There is an accompanying editorial commentary at: Growing and sustaining doctors in rural, remote and First Nations communities | InSight+ (mja.com.au)

Having delivered GP training to more than 500 doctors in over 350 communities, with over 300 program completions to date, the RVTS has over the past 25 years, continuously provided medical workforce solution for Australia’s rural, remote, and First Nations communities.

The evaluation has provided many insights into RVTS’ performance against its objectives and revealed many exceptional aspects of the program that are unique in the environment in which RVTS operates. Key findings include: high levels of participant satisfaction; high levels of fellowship attainment; impressive workforce retention; and comparative cost-effectiveness.

Additionally, the RVTS provides a template for best practice in the support of overseas trained doctors and showcasing place-based, retention-focused workforce strategies.

The Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC), funded and supported the evaluation, in the spirit of disseminating outcomes and informing ongoing quality improvement in support of services for remote and First Nations communities.

We thank the Project Reference Group and the evaluation participants, including the Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) staff, supervisors, training coordinators, medical educators, registrars, board, employers, and stakeholders who gave up their valuable time to contribute insights. This evaluation would not have been possible without their contribution.

The Stakeholder Advisory Group of Prof Jenny May, A/Prof Susan Wearne, Mr Murray Newman, Ms Carla Taylor, Ms Jo-Anne Chapman, Ms Marita Cowie, Mr David Glasson, Dr James Brown, Dr Yann Guisard, Dr Simone Raye and Ms Peta Rutherford contributed policy and program insights which informed further analysis and implications.

Additional experts and researchers who contributed to theory development included Dr Greg Gladman, Dr Karin Jodlowski-Tan, Dr Taras Mikulin, Dr Murray Towne, Dr Tiana Gurney and Dr Ronda Gurney.