Current Flinders NT initiatives

The NT Regional Training Hub’s projects and activities align with the reporting requirements of the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Program which is supported by the Australian Government. The aim of the RHMT Program is to improve the recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural and remote Australia.

See below for some key projects that the NT RTH have executed.

Mentoring program (2022 – current)

The NT RTH administers an organic ‘leaky pipeline’ and a capacity building approach to mentoring which includes delivery of professional development opportunities for NT medical clinicians and for our stakeholder’s formal matching programs.

The Hub offers valuable programs that provide essential interpersonal, problem-solving skills and networking opportunities that supports the current and future workforce to become effective mentors and mentees. In addition to collaborating with local expertise, the Hub has sponsored workshops delivered by the Pam McLean Centre (recognised leaders in clinical communication training) and Mentoring on the Run. Find out more about mentoring here.

NT Clinical Academy (2023 – current)

2023 saw the launch of the NT Clinical Academy, an NT centric community of medical clinical educators. The Academy will provide collegiate and professional development support for its members, who share a love of teaching, learning and research.

The Academy welcomes members who facilitate health learning experiences from the breadth of health services in the Northern Territory and is accessible to all medical clinical educators regardless of if they are located within urban, regional, and remote practices. The Academy will work towards increasing opportunities for collaboration with innovative mechanisms to help learning in all settings, events are inclusive and will be hosted regionally and Territory wide.

Contact fnt.rth@flinders.edu.au for further information.

Bursaries (2019 – current)

NT RTH offers a limited number of sponsorships for NTMP students, NT Medical Interns and Pre-Vocational Doctors interested in general practice and medical specialist careers to attend events and activities that enhance their training and workforce opportunities in the NT.

Find out more about the bursary scheme and important dates here.

Support for key stakeholders (2017 - current)

Grant application support (2017 to current)
Training post application support (2017 to current)
Working with Medical Speciality Colleges with events and promotion (2017 – current)
Workforce Professional Development Opportunities

Medical career planning and support programs (2018 – current)

The NT RTH team can assist you with your career planning needs. The NT RTH shares resources that assists NT students and pre-vocational medical clinicians to plan their future training and workforce options. All accredited training and relevant support services in the NT have been mapped into easy-to-read tables and webpages. These webpages also contain relevant web links, application information, local and college contacts, and relevant videos.

In addition to the training tables, we have recorded webinars with each GP and specialist training college, engaging presenters from the colleges along with trainees and fellows from the NT sharing information and inspiration.

The annual NT Medical Career Expo is an interactive event that showcases a multitude of career options. Attendees can meet with college and local health service staff in addition to trying some hands-on activities that showcase each specialisation.

Find out more

Ultrasound training (2021 – current)

NT RTH and Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine ASUM teamed over the years to offer Point of Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) workshops in Nhulunbuy & Alice Springs. The workshop program and delivery are led by Dr Nadi Pandithage and supported by additional facilitators and local sonographers of the regions. The workshops aim to empower doctors with the confidence to perform PoCUS effectively and efficiently. With the help of this training program, doctors can take a significant step towards improving patient outcomes by accurately diagnosing and treating patients in a timelier manner.

NT RTH have a SonoSim starter kit with O&G bundle. A certified laptop pre-installed with the patented SonoSim Ultrasound Training Solution, forming the foundation to build your ultrasound training curriculum. Contact fnt.rth@flinders.edu.au if you would like to loan the SIM equipment.

Student to internship transition workshop (2020 - current)

NT Regional Training Hub annually engages NT Junior Doctors to co-design and deliver the Student to Internship Transition workshops.

The purpose of the workshop is to be fun, supportive and to celebrate the achievements of final year medical students embarking on an internship in the NT, covering fundamental concepts and intern responsibilities The program complements clinical programs aimed at developing skills for internship and to lay foundations for the intern orientation programs run by Top End Regional Health Service and Central Australia Regional Health Service.

NT medical training and workforce collaboration (Doctors for the NT campaign) (2020 – current)

The Northern Territory Medical Training and Workforce Collaboration represents the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, NT Regional Training Hub, NT Primary Health Network/ Rural Workforce Australia, NT Rural Generalist Coordination Unit, NT Health and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. The collaboration’s campaign name is ‘Doctors for the NT’.

Doctors for the NT focuses on local medical training, employment, and workforce development. Its primary goal is to promote the NT as an ideal location for living, training, and accelerating your career, while highlighting general practice and rural generalist pathways.

We showcase the unique and diverse career opportunities for medical students, pre-vocational doctors, primary care and hospital specialist trainees and beyond.

Data collation (2017 to current)

Ongoing data collection and analysis from conferences and NT Medical Career Expo in relation to workforce intentions and desired support for career/workforce navigation.

NT Medical Program graduate tracking research project (2020 – current)

Led by Dr Emma Kennedy, Director of the NT Medical Program (NTMP), NT RTH are collaborating on a research project to determine where medical students of the NTMP practice, and what specialty training pathway they have chosen.

The objectives are: 

Primary: To identify the location and specialty of NTMP graduates post-graduation.
Secondary: To identify where NTMP graduates intend to practice, and to report on their experience of their studies regarding their confidence practicing medicine in a remote context.

A NTMP Graduate Tracking Governance Committee is tasked to provide governance on the collation and use of data collected.

Advanced Training in Remote Indigenous Health (2019 – current)

In 2019 the NT Regional Training Hub in partnership with Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC), Northern Territory General Practice Education (NTGPE), and the Northern Territory Primary Health Network (NTPHN), piloted a program for Advanced Training in Remote Aboriginal Health with a strong focus on rural generalist training for very remote areas.

The training continues with support and endorsement from ACRRM and RACGP as a pathway option for an additional Advanced Specialist Training (AST) component for a FACRRM, or the Advanced Rural Skills Training (ARST) for the FARGP.

The Advanced Training in Remote Indigenous Health is designed to support trainees to attain knowledge and skills that produces confidence for a long-term career in remote Indigenous health and aims to produce high quality rural generalists who feel comfortable and confident to continue a career in remote Indigenous health. The skills and knowledge gained will suit the trainee’s specific professional development and community needs enabling provision of responsive health care.

The revised Advanced Training in Remote Indigenous Health handbook will be available soon.

Further information about the pilot training

Advanced training in remote Indigenous health recruitment opportunities

Advanced training in remote Indigenous health handbook

Past initatives

On country experience (2021)

NT Regional Training Hub in consultation with key stakeholders, Elders and Traditional Owners developed pilot program for a cultural immersion weekend on Kurku homeland, Tempe Downs, in Central Australia. The experience was hosted by Traditional Owner John Liddle and his family and ran twice, in May and September 2021.

This project was developed to take cultural awareness training out of the classroom and introduce learning on country. To provide a weekend with engagement of senior clinicians, junior hospital doctors, GP registrars and NTMP students in an educational cultural immersion experience. The goals were to:

Gain a greater understanding of the traditions and lifestyle of people in remote communities.
Be aware of the protocols observed in remote communities.
Generate interest among Australian doctors to work within the ACCHS sector and in remote areas.
Learn about the social determinants of health while engaging with colleagues, community members and health agencies.
Learn about the prevalence of diabetes and obesity among Aboriginal people in remote areas of Australia.

Remote and rural junior doctor forums (2019-2021)

The NT Regional Training Hub hosted bi-monthly discussions about remote and rural junior doctor training, supported by a National Steering Committee of Clinicians, Junior Doctors and Regional Training Hubs. Topics included:

training pipeline challenges and opportunities
a presentation from the AMA regarding their position on rural training specialist pathways
development of a face to face junior doctor national forum
specialist colleges presentations about the ways that they support remote and rural training
focus on global health experiences, with speakers from across the globe talking about the benefits and challenges of working overseas and how that may contribute to clinical practice in rural and remote locations
forums discussing the experiences of specialists in small rural hospitals

The Committee worked towards facilitating ongoing discussions within the group but also with external stakeholders. These important and timely discussions explored ways to expand training opportunities, to support junior doctors and to workshop solutions that enable and empower current and future trainees to live, train and work in rural and remote locations.

Find out more

Learning and teaching cross-cultural communication skills in the NT context (2019-2020)

This project developed an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander expert group of cultural and clinical educators that explored the patient centred concepts around cross-cultural communication in the NT context including creation of ongoing professional development resources for clinical educators..

No Cola Just Fun tour (2019)

The “No Cola Just Fun Tour”, was a collaboration with Congress, NTGPE, and NTPHN, it was a two-week engagement of senior and junior doctors in an educational community environment, learning about working in Aboriginal Controlled Health.

A gathering of 18 doctors and their families in Central Australia took place over two weeks in October 2019. These doctors have been getting together over the past 15 years to play music and support each other. Many have spent significant periods in remote settings and have remained in the Northern Territory and taken up senior roles.

The aims of this gathering were:

To engage the next generation of rural and remote health staff in activities outside medicine and share our experience of sustainability.
To provide unique educational opportunities to young health practitioners in rural and remote health care.
To engage with the remote communities in which we work as health practitioners and as community members (musicians).

Read about the 2019 No Cola, Just Fun tour.