October provided another busy month for AMACDT with CRAC, WSIG and GTAC meetings being held and AMACDT hosting a Trainee Forum on rural, regional and remote training.
The AMACDT Reference Advisory Committee (CRAC) met on Monday 31 October. CRAC meets three times a year and brings together the former chairs of AMACDT to informally discuss current issues and advocacy goals of AMACDT.
The AMACDT GPs in Training Advisory Committee (GTAC) met on Monday 10 October and discussed employment and leave reform, the transition to college-led training, flexibility in training and AMSA roundtable on medical student interest in general practice. GTAC also provided feedback and discussed an upcoming GP Workforce Paper developed by the AMA advocacy team due to be released shortly.
The AMACDT Wellbeing Special Interest Group (WSIG) met on Tuesday 25 October to provide updates on their work and advocacy priorities. Current WSIG advocacy includes development of postvention suicide responses, encouraging doctors to have their own GPs, exam support and issues around bullying, harassment and respect in the workplace.
AMACDT hosted the fourth Trainee Forum on 20 October focusing on college initiatives to support trainees to live and work in rural areas. The AMA Trainee Forum brings together Specialist Medical College trainee committee chairs to discuss issues and provide solutions to issues affecting college trainees. Participants at the trainee forum were asked to share how their college supports or creates barriers for trainees undertaking rural training. Participants discussed professional isolation, support for mandatory rural/regional rotations, incentives for rural training and how medical students and trainees in the prevocational space need to have better exposure and support to receive rural exposure, among other topics. A communique of the meeting will be released shortly.
