As part of the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to strengthen healthcare in rural, remote, and regional areas, the More Doctors for Rural Australia Program (MDRAP) has been replaced by the Pre-Fellowship Program (PFP). The Rural Workforce Agencies have commenced the trial of the PFP from 2 April.
Key Features of the PFP
The PFP brings several new features and improvements over its predecessor:
- Wider Eligibility and Practice Locations: Unlike MDRAP, which was limited to rural settings, PFP expands eligibility to all Distribution Priority Areas (DPAs), including outer metropolitan regions, thus widening the scope of practices and locations that can benefit from the program.
- Enhanced Support and Supervision: Practices are required to meet stringent safety and quality standards and must be accredited or working towards accreditation as training practices with ACRRM or RACGP. This ensures higher quality training and supervision, tailored to the needs of rural practices, with additional financial support for supervisory roles.
- Structured Pathway to Fellowship: The PFP is designed to facilitate a smoother transition to Fellowship training, with regular reviews every three months to assess readiness for progression. This structured pathway accelerates the journey towards specialist recognition, aiming to retain more skilled practitioners in underserved areas.
Eligibility and Location Requirements
- Doctor Eligibility
- Open to International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and other non-vocationally recognised doctors who are either temporary or permanent residents of Australia.
- Eligible doctors must hold current registration with the Medical Board of Australia, have an offer of employment, and meet supervision and professional development requirements.
- Doctors cannot have previously been under another 3GA program or MDRAP
Who will this pathway help?
The only doctors really eligible for this pathway will be those coming to Australia under the Standard pathway and who require level 1 supervision. Once they complete their first few months of work they will then become eligible for programs such as FSP that offer access to higher billings but require them to move out to a more rural location. We feel that this pathway does not present as an attractive option to practices who may not be able to retain this doctors.