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A new and innovative employment model for General Practitioners (GP) in training aimed at boosting the number of doctors in rural and regional parts of Tasmania is underway with the first trainee GPs in place in different parts of the State.
Four GP trainees commenced placements in July 2023 at medical centres in Deloraine, Burnie, Swansea and the Aboriginal Health Service in Hobart under the Single Employer Model pilot – a partnership between the Tasmanian and Australian Governments supported by a $12.97 million co-investment.
As part of the pilot, GP trainees have the choice of being centrally employed by the State Government throughout their training rotations to address some of the key barriers to recruiting and retaining the next generation of GPs.
By having a single contract and employer throughout their training, GPs are able to access the same salary and leave entitlements – including annual leave, parental leave and sick leave – as their hospital-based peers. The employment model also allows for a seamless transition between hospital and GP placements.
Deloraine Medical Centre’s Dr Sooriya Wijewardena is one of the four doctors training to become a GP currently employed through the pilot and said having one single employer throughout his training offered lots of flexibility.
“I’m very passionate about working in rural medicine. Being employed by the State throughout my training brings lots of advantages and makes the pathway to becoming a rural GP even easier”, said Dr Wijewardena.
Rural Generalist and Deloraine Medical Centre Practice Owner Dr Aaron Hawkins said the Single Employer Model would remove some of the barriers to becoming a rural GP.
“We are really excited at Deloraine to be part of this first pilot of the Single Employer Model and It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” said Dr Hawkins.
“It wasn’t long ago that I was a registrar myself and I know when you’re considering a move into General Practice there can be lots of barriers.
“The Single Employer Model can bring down these barriers and hopefully attract more junior doctors to serve our rural communities in the future.”
The program has the opportunity to scale up significantly for the start of the next training year commencing in January 2024, with the State and Australian Governments negotiating an increase in the number of available placements from 20 in 2023 to 80 in 2024.