Academic Posts
Vocational training in general practice offers the opportunity to undertake salaried training for a period of 12 months part-time, in an academic term as an extended skills post or as optional extra training.
The purpose of the term is to enable registrars to develop skills in research, teaching, project work and critical evaluation of research relevant to the discipline of general practice that will be of use throughout their careers and that will contribute to knowledge exchange and development.
The term must provide an experience relevant to general practice and/or primary care. Registrars are expected to develop understandings of research and teaching environments and the processes and benefits of cross-disciplinary research.
Applying for an Academic Post
Applications for Academic Posts will be open from Monday 13 February until Friday 16 March.
Academic Post Frequently Asked Questions
Short Version of Academic Resources
Academic Post Guidelines (currently under review)
UPDATED Aug 2011: Academic post application form
To apply for an academic post please email your completed application form to education@gpet.com.au.
For further information about applying for an Academic Post please contact either the Senior Program Officer - Academic and Education, Ms Nicole Pollock or the GPET RRADO, Dr Casey Maddren. A common fault in academic post applications received by GPET has been a lack of detail in the university supervisor's declaration. It is strongly recommended that university supervisors look at the following proforma as a template for their declaration:
University Supervisor Declaration Proforma
- What's your burning question? View a short youtube video about general practice registrars undertaking an academic post.
Completed academic post application forms
Completed application forms can be submitted by email or posted to:
General Practice Education & Training
Program Officer, Education
GPO Box 2914
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Please ensure a signed copy of the documents are provided to GPET.
Academic post examples
Here are some examples of published research that has evolved from an academic post (presented with the permission of the registrars involved).
Geoff Spurling - Delayed antibiotics for symptoms and complications of respiratory infections - a Cochrane review.
Paul Burgess - Healthy country: healthy people? Exploring the health benefits of indigenous natural resource management - a literature review published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. Paul Burgess was the 2004 Registrar Research Prize winner, for this research project.
Daisy Tan - Weight management in general practice: what do patients want? - a waiting-room questionnaire survey, published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Academic post reports
Registrar mid-term academic post report
Registrar final academic post report
- An example of an academic post report
Dr Subana Amirthanandan has recently completed her 2009 post, to view this report please click on the following link.
Academic post report - Dr Subana Amirthanandan 2009
Supervisor academic post report
Academic registrar profile - We encourage our current academic registrars to complete the academic registrar profile and submit them to Dr Casey Maddren.
Testimonial
Though I had done research for my electives in medical school after graduating, I hadn't really thought about it again until the RRADO came and spoke to us at an education release day. This got me thinking about the possibility of doing research as part of my GP training and attending the GPET Registrar Research Workshop further inspired me. I saw the academic post as a fantastic opportunity to gain skills in teaching and education as well as supporting me to research an area I was really interested in - how we train GPs in research and critical thinking.
I completed my academic post at Bond University in 2010. I worked there two days a week and clinically for the remainder of the week. At the uni, I became part of the general practice 'team'. In addition to my own research work, I was involved in curriculum development and hands-on medical student teaching with tutorial groups and lectures. I really enjoyed the variety of the two different environments and interestingly they didn't just balance each other but the skills and experiences I gained in the academic sense helped me become a better clinician and visa versa.
Having a strong evidence base for the care we provide in general practice is vital. By doing an academic post you actually get to contribute to this body of knowledge. That's really exciting.
Dr Emily Farrell, Academic registrar 2010