The medical industry in Australia is very much diverse with increased opportunities for young doctors. It is only possible to become a qualified doctor if you have the relevant recognised qualifications and experience. Many employers in Australia prefer vocationally registered doctors who have completed Fellowship and who can perform their duties well.

Read on to find out more about how you can become a Specialist General Practitioner (GP) with the required qualifications in Australia.

What is RVTS?

The Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) is an approved training program that paves the way for GPs in Australia towards the Fellowship of the Royal Australia College of General Practitioners (FRACGP). It is a four year training program that allows RVTS registrars to practice in rural areas in the country.

Doctors usually follow this training program while continuously providing their services to the community. Therefore, it’s a flexible fellowship program that you can follow as per your convenience. The program provides structured distance education to doctors in Australia.

RVTS was introduced to;

·        Provide access to vocational training for doctors in Australia.

·        Provide high-quality medical services to the rural community in Australia.

·        Facilitate employment and retention of doctors working in rural and remote areas in Australia.

Benefits of Following RVTS

There are several advantages to following the RVTS program to gain fellowship as a GPs in Australia. It can greatly contribute to a better career and also provide a wealth of experience for doctors. Here are a few of the benefits of following the RVTS program;

·        It provides comprehensive and personalised supervision and support.

·        The training is renowned for a high achievement rate.

·        The program is full-funded by the Government of Australia with no additional application fee.

·        Doctors have the chance of staying in their community while completing training.

·        The program provides a mix of virtual and face-to-face training.

·        Registrars become eligible for the A1 Medicare schedule whilst completing training.

RVTS Pathways to Obtain Fellowship

The RVTS program paves way to General Practice Fellowship through either RACGP or ACRRM thereby providing vocational recognition for doctors in Australia.

There is also a pathway through a Non-Vocationally Registered Fellowship Program RACGP PEP (Practical Experience Pathway) which paves the way to obtain vocational recognition via RACGP.

RVTS Program Curriculum

The RVTS program curriculum is specifically focused on rural and remote medicine. It covers the following key areas in relation to remote medicine.

·        Clinical skills – This includes emergency skills such as dealing with trauma, surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics skills, paediatrics and psychiatry.

·        The nature of remote communities – This topic covers confidentiality, family problems, professional boundary issues, mental health and cultural frameworks.

·        Public health – This section covers topics including disease management, public health, remote preventative medicine, community roles and remote population health.

·        Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health – This sections covers topics including diagnosis and control of diseases affecting the indigenous community, social, economic and cultural factors that impact the health of indigenous people and providing accessible health services to these communities.

·        Management skills and professional networks – This topic includes integration with other health services, support networks, crisis management, IT applications and the development of various projects related to rural healthcare services.

·        Self-care – This includes topics like self-analysis, professional development strategies, managing stress and working in a remote setting.

·        Advanced skills training – This subject includes topics like emergency medicine, obstetrics, anaesthetics, Aboriginal health, remote medicine procedures, population health and small remote settlement practice.

Delivery of RVTS Training

The RVTS program is dedicated to providing the best possible training experience to doctors by accommodating the circumstances of remote practice. It is a flexible training program that delivers via distance education and remote supervision. RVTS program is delivered in the following ways:

·        Weekly webinars – Live webinars are conducted every week where registrars can participate in education sessions that take from one to one and a half hours to complete. These sessions are conducted via Citrix GoToTraining platform.

·        Face-to-face workshops – These workshops are held bi-annually where registrars gather at a central location. These intensive workshops take five days to cover subject areas that are ideally suited for face-to-face learning. These workshops also provide great networking opportunities and family travel time for registrars.

·        Clinical teaching and feedback – In clinical teaching visits, a RVTS supervisor or a well-experiences remote practitioner goes along with registrars for consultation. This is done to monitor the registrars and provide feedback on their work.

·        Remote supervision – The RVTS program assigns a supervisor for every registrar who plays the role of a mentor that gives sound educational advice based on his experience.

RVTS Eligibility Criteria

RVTS provides two streams of trainings, they are; the remote stream for doctors working in rural Australia and the AMS stream that provides training for doctors working in the Aboriginal community.

Remote stream;

·        The location must be in Modified Monash Model (MMM) 4, 5, 6, or 7; AND

·        A position providing comprehensive patient medical care to individual persons, families and entire communities.

AMS stream;

·        The location must be in MMM 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, OR 7 and an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service; AND

·        A position providing comprehensive patient medical care to individual persons, families and entire communities.

The medical registration procedure for both streams is as follows;

·        Doctors at Level 3 or 4 supervision.

·        Doctors having General, Provisional or Limited Registration for Area of Need with the AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency).

·        The doctor should be working in an eligible location when applying and remain in the same location throughout training.

·        Australian citizens and permanent and temporary residents.

·        Preference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors.

RVTS applicants can determine suitability of the location of preference. Once the application is received, RVTS will finalise the eligibility for the given location.

Apply for RVTS

RVTS has introduced a mid-year training intake, therefore moving to two intakes per year from a single intake. RVTS will bring forward sixteen positions from the 2023 application year to the July 2022 intake.

Applications for the July 2022 intake will open on 4 April 2022.

Conclusion

RVTS is a comprehensive training program that paves way for doctors to obtain their Fellowship in Australia. It allows doctors to provide their services within the Aboriginal and rural communities in Australia. This paves way for improved healthcare services in remote locations in the country.

Medfuture has strong networking connections with healthcare sector employers in Australia. We are dedicated in providing the best medical professionals for established medical sector employers in the country.

Visit our website to find out the latest vacancies available in the healthcare sector in Australia.

FAQs

Do I have to move to a different location during RVTS training?

Doctors should be working in an eligible location to apply for the RVTS program. Doctors don’t have to move from the given location during training. Advanced training might require doctors to move from the given location in order to gain relevant training with a teaching hospital in the area.

How much does it cost to apply for RVTS?

Applicants are not required to pay any fee for RVTS. It is fully-funded and is limited to an annual intake of 22 doctors for the remote stream and 10 doctors for the AMS stream.