Rural Generalists will now be formally recognised as a specialist medical field within generalist practice following an announcement by the Minister for Health, Disability, and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP, on behalf of the joint health ministers. Read Minister Butler’s media statement.
This means that the Australian Medical Council can now assess and accredit training and education programs in Rural Generalist Medicine. Once there is an approved qualification, practitioners will be able to apply to the Medical Board of Australia for specialist registration in this specialist field. See the full List of specialties, fields of specialty practice and related specialist titles for the medical profession is published on the Medical Board’s Registration standards webpage.
This approval follows the Australian Medical Council’s detailed assessment of the proposal from the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. The AMC provided advice to the Medical Board of Australia who recommended that health ministers approve rural generalist medicine as a new field of specialty practice.
Organisations that have an education and training program that it believes can comply with the AMC Standards for Assessment and Accreditation of Specialist Medical Programs may apply for accreditation. For further information about applying for training program accreditation in Rural Generalist Medicine, please contact accreditation@amc.org.au. Information about the accreditation process can be found on the AMC website.
