Overview
The Prevocational General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) in the Northern Territory (NT) provides prevocational doctors in postgraduate years two to three (PGY 2-3) with firsthand experience in general practice.
PGPPP is managed by General Practice Education and Training Ltd (GPET) on behalf of the Australian Government. The Program is facilitated through providers such as NTGPE and delivered by accredited practices and medical services throughout Australia.
NT placements are undertaken for a period of up to 13 weeks in private general practice or an Aboriginal Health Service. Prevocational hospital based doctors (PGY2+) have the opportunity to work in a rural/remote setting or in urban and outer metro locations. Program participants gain exposure to general practice/primary health care in the NT and most will have high-level involvement with Indigenous health clinical settings. An NT placement usually promises the doctor exposure to a broader variety of challenging medicine due to local demographics and challenges.
Clinical and social learning experiences gained from working in a setting other than a major teaching or provincial hospital will enhance learning when the doctor returns to the parent hospital.
Program objective and aims
The program objective is to provide professional, well supervised and educational general practice placements for prevocational doctors as part of their training.
The aims are three-fold:
- Build prevocational doctors’ confidence, exposure and interest in working in outer metropolitan, regional and rural areas through supervised general practice placements of varying duration, up to 13 weeks
- Increase understanding of the integration between primary and secondary health care by prevocational doctors
- Provide an experience that will encourage prevocational doctors to take up general practice as a career.
