training

Year Family Medicine was Established: 1973

Length of Medical School: 4 years (Australian National University), however before entrance into medical school there is a need for the completion of an undergraduate degree (Interview informant, 2019). Some programs may be 6 years if the university works on a different system.

Length of Training Program: 3 years (AGPT)

Type of Training: Similar to residency, but known as an apprenticeship program, where 2 out of the 3 years are community based (AGPT)

Number of Institutions That Offer Family Medicine Training: 9 institutions (AGPT)

Number of Trainees: 1200-1300 new entries each year, however this range fluctuates each year (Interview informant, 2018)

practice

Number of Family Physicians: 114 general practitioners per 100,000 (AIHW, 2015)

Number of Physicians: 392 physicians per 100,000 (AIHW, 2015)

QALY: Increase from 0 in 1991 to 50,000 in 2012

DALY: 199 DALY per 1,000 people in 2015

Life Expectancy:

2015-2017: Male- 80.5 years

2015-2017: Female- 84.6 years

as compared to 47.2 and 50.8 in 1881-1890.

training

After the completion of an undergraduate degree, medical training in Australia is comprised of four years of medical school (Australian National University), followed by an intern year that is not counted in the degree duration, and then 3 years of a “residency-like” program. This “residency-like” program is referred to as an apprentice program with 2 out of the 3 years being largely community based general practice (Interview informant, 2019). What we would call “residents” in much of North America are called “registrars” in Australia (Interview informant, 2019). Usually, it is the third year of medical school that counts in the GP training program, and it may be an anaesthetics/ obstetrics or similar procedural type year (Interview informant, 2019). Registrars are working in community general practices as doctors and are capable of billing patients, however are accompanied by significant supervision and mentorship. Near the end of the student’s time as “registrars”, they take “Fellowship” exams; which are equivalent to the Canadian certification qualification (Interview informant, 2019). The apprenticeship program allows trainees to see both the community-based and hospital-based side of family medicine/ general practice-type care. The specifically rural College ACRRM permits longer periods in hospital procedural positions and less in community practice before achieving FACRRM. There are 9 institutions in Australia that offer family medicine training (AGPT).

practice

The general practitioners are among rural area nurses and aboriginal workers as primary care deliverers. The role of a general practitioner in this country is to create a team-based practice for patients and to also provide presentations on community health care; they lead equivalent roles to what a family doctor would in North America. The general practitioners are considered gatekeepers as they provide referrals to other secondary care providers. They use a very community oriented primary care model (Interview informant, 2019).