Healthcare gets boost

JCU workshop helping hone young doctors’ skills

EAGER young doctors are set to boost health in remote Far North communities upon completion of their GP training.

Up to 50 registrars will attend a three-day introductory workshop for James Cook University’s GP training program – Generalist Medical Training, GMT, – at the university’s Smithfield Campus.

After the workshop, which begins today, 19 registrars will remain in the Cairns and Hinterland region to undertake further training at various regional and remote clinics and hospitals.

GMT director, Associate Professor Peta-Ann Teague, said the new GPs would service communities across Queensland, most of which were “in need of a health workforce”.

“JCU has co-ordinated the placement of new doctors from Thursday Island to Tewantin, Mount Isa to Maroochydore, and Cairns to Cloncurry,” she said.

“We dedicate time and resources to matching applicants with training posts that will benefit their careers as well as the community.

“The training posts in our region provide the opportunity to develop an extended scope of practice that goes beyond urban, office-based general practice,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing these enthusiastic doctors make a real difference in their communities, particularly those communities who most need them.

“JCU has a strong record of producing a skilled workforce for Northern Australia and this new cohort of GPs will add to that legacy.”

At the workshops, registrars will cover information about Medicare and resources.

They will also meet training supervisors, mentors and colleagues, as well as the support staff from JCU, and participate in simulated learning sessions.

Remote communities across Far North Queensland have some of the most dire health issues in the nation. A health snapshot published by the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network in 2016 found residents of three Torres Strait council areas had life expectancies well below the national average.