MTRP Projects - 1999/01 Projects

Queensland Postgraduate Medical Education Committee

The General Clinical Education Program

This project put in place a national clinical education framework for doctors in PGY1 and 2.

The Postgraduate Medical Education Committee (PGMEC) oversighted the project, which entailed the development of a program providing clear education guidelines and criteria for doctors in their first two years of postgraduate training. It provided integration with undergraduate and graduate medical programs and articulated the requirements of College training schemes.

Resources developed and posted on a specifically constructed website for Early Postgraduate Medical Education included curriculum material covering an extensive range of topics and sample activities and documents.

Significant collaboration with national stakeholders, including College representatives took place to reach agreement on clinical aspects of the framework and its implementation.

New South Wales Postgraduate Medical Council

The JMO Term Experience Project

This project collected information from JMOs at the end of each term, on the educational value of their hospital terms. The questionnaire was used in hospitals across NSW and the ACT to gather data from every PGY1 and 2 for every term of 1999. During 2000, the priorities were to increase the number of online sites, to provide hospitals with their own aggregated data and to evaluate the project.

AMC Pre-Employment Program

Following the successful piloting of a comprehensive orientation program for Australian Medical Council (AMC) graduates, a further program for overseas-trained doctors was conducted. The long course was anticipated to attract up to 30 participants. A resource manual that complements the Program was developed.

Allied project - Publications

This project resulted in a review and update of the content and look of the Council's publications. In addition, the range of publications available that describe and promote the activities of Council was expanded. The new material was published and made available on the Council's website.

PMC Net

During 2000 the PMC Council focused on consolidating and enhancing mechanisms of communication between people in the health system who manage and support JMOs. A second arm to the project was to design and develop Council's website, to meet the needs of identified stakeholders and provide a responsive communication and educational vehicle for the PMC.

Diversity - An Educational Resource for Junior Doctors and Other Health Professionals

This resource aimed to provide health practitioners, particularly junior doctors working within the NSW hospital system, with information, which will assist them in meeting, the health needs of Australia's diverse community. The resource included five modules addressing orientation, working with interpreters, issues around death and dying, avoiding litigation, and case studies. Each module contained a facilitator's guide.

Changing the Culture of Teaching

A working group, comprising six recent graduates, was convened to address the question: what are the barriers that limit the ability of registrars to teach early postgraduate doctors? A comprehensive report was produced and presented to Council in January 2000.

Registrar Teaching Module

A tender was awarded to the School of Medical Education, University of New South Wales, in conjunction with the Royal Australian College of Physicians, to develop an educational module which would support registrars in their role as teachers of JMOs. A needs analysis was undertaken and representatives of the Culture of Teaching Group, which examined barriers to teaching, were involved in the reference group.

JMO Educational Module

A tender was awarded to the University of Melbourne and the Australian International Health Institute to develop a multimedia educational module for JMOs on rational test ordering. A comprehensive needs analysis was undertaken and the development of the module commenced under the guidance of a clinical reference group.

Workpractice Reform

A review was conducted of the many work practice reform projects, relevant to JMOs, being undertaken. The project aimed to determine what role, if any, it may have in the dissemination in NSW of ideas and information. Subsequent work in this area was likely to be in partnership with the NSW Health Department and a range of other medical workforce stakeholders.

Community Terms

The Postgraduate Medical Council of NSW developed three community term proposals in conjunction with project partners and the ACRRM Community term project team. These proposals include an integrated community/facility based term offering an opportunity to work across the continuum of care in a rural setting. The Community Terms Subcommittee worked in conjunction with the NSW Health Department project representative on the development of a Discussion paper on Community Terms.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

The Postgraduate Medical Council accepted a proposal from the University of Newcastle to collect baseline data and professional needs analysis for Aboriginal Doctors working the NSW health system. This project intended to inform any future projects that relate to Aboriginal Junior Medical Officers