GPET Convention 2011 - Highlights

The recent GPET convention in Canberra was a chance to hear about the future directions of GP registrar training as well as reflecting on the past. The main themes of the event were partnerships in Indigenous Health training, assessment of competence and quality and academic capacity. Some interesting and progressive ideas about assessment methods were raised by Ron Epstein (listen to the keynote address here). Of note, 22% of the academic papers at the GPET convention were presented by registrars, which is a fantastic increase from 0% a few years ago.

The GPRA also held its AGM and advisory council meeting after the convention. As your RLOs it was good to be able to represent local issues here in the various policies and ideas that are developing.

My reflection is that GP training in Australia is certainly an exciting area, with many inspiring people who are keen to see registrars become excellent General Practitioners in the future.