Academic Posts - what, why, and who

Do you enjoy finding out more about what interests you? Are you motivated by research? Does education excite you? You should consider an Academic Post! Now is the time to think about it for 2012, as applications close on 20th September.

An Academic Post is a great opportunity to get involved in research during your GP training. It is usually a part time position alongside clinical work. You can get involved with an existing research project, often attached to a University Clinical School, or research your own question, or even do a Cochrane-style systematic review. An Academic Post can count towards your training time if it is considered a "special skills" term. Find out more at http://www.agpt.com.au/TrainingPosts/Academictraining/

Dr Sandeep Bhagat completed an Academic Post with a research project attached to the School of Rural Health in Traralgon. Teaching of 3rd and 4th year medical students was a big part of this. According to Sandeep, "it is always a proud moment to meet a resident doctor who was once my student. There is a priceless sense of contribution towards a colleague's professional life." Sandeep identified flexibility with work hours, training in how to approach research and future university teaching opportunities as the best things about an Academic Post. "Please do consider an academic post," he said.

Dr Stuart Anderson has also completed an Academic Post in Gippsland. "My Academic Post involved a research project into the clinical exposures available to medical students doing their terms in East Gippsland," he said. "It was also coupled with a teaching role for those students and a role in developing some emergency skills training for local GPs, nurses and students." Stuart found that an Academic Post enabled him to have some flexibility with his time, as he was also the then getGP RLO and the Vice-Chair of GPRA. Stuart said he enjoyed the post because "it enabled me to develop my skills in teaching over the course of the year, and the flexibility of the job meant I was able to achieve quite a bit of medico-political work on the days when not much was going on academically and vice-versa." His advice to anyone considering an academic post is to "Make sure it is about something you enjoy a lot, and something that you want to pursue in the future."


Current opportunities for Academic Posts in Gippsland include involvement with the Monash University School of Rural Health in Traralgon (contact Dr Daryl Pedler daryl.pedler@monash.edu) and with the East Gippsland Regional Clinical School (contact A/Prof David Campbell david.campbell@monash.edu)