Julie Rogalsky ~ East Regional Manager

Since joining Southern GP Training in July this year I have been on a steep but enjoyable learning curve.  The selection process for 2012 is complete and we welcome 38 new registrars to our program in the East.  In order to accommodate this many registrars we have been busy accrediting new practices, specifically on the Peninsula.  We are pleased to be expanding our program and we look forward to enjoying a positive working relationship with our existing and new practices, registrars and supervisors.

With regard to the Prevocational General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) there are four new posts and this will result in a total of 90 interns rotating throughout our East and West catchments.  Recently a significant amount of work has gone into preparing profiles of our posts and we thank our practices for supporting us in this activity.

The Education and Innovation Team has been busy coordinating and implementing a number of Education Integration Projects.  This year we have focussed on expanding our research activities and we are confident that these projects will value add and result in a number of learnings for the industry.  Our academic partners and contractors have added strength to our projects and we thank them for their involvement and expertise.

Since our last newsletter we have welcomed a number of new staff to SGPT.  Val Treneman joined the team as the Registrar Support Coordinator, Dr Poobalan Naidoo as the Medical Educator for the Peninsula, Amy VanRysbergen as Administration Support Officer and Helen Fletcher is assisting with PGPPP until February.  We are in the process of recruiting to the Quality Assurance and Education Development Advisor position and this person will start in the new year.

In September we started a promotion campaign to encourage medical students, interns and registrars to consider working and living in East Gippsland.   The campaign involves virtual tours of the East Gippsland practices, town profiles, testimonials and promotional material.  We have a number of exciting projects planned for the new year and I encourage you to look out for our new look web site.

In closing I would like to acknowledge the work of the Medical Education Team, Supervisors, general practice staff and our Program Staff for their hard work and dedication.  It is appreciated and I look forward to seeing you in 2012.