Applications for our 2011 intake are now open and close at 5pm on 9 July 2010. There are 22 places available next year, seven more than in 2010. The program is fully Commonwealth funded and suitable for doctors in solo practice. To apply, check your eligibility and download the application documents.
The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing has administered RVTS a financial shot-in-the-arm. A further 3 years of funding will provide training for 22 new registrars annually. This financial injection will benefit up to 66 rural and remote communities. It's just what the doctor ordered.
The recent trial Practice Managers Workshop at Darling Harbour was a huge success. Participants were taken on a tour of the wonderful world of RVTS and all were enthusiastic to learn how to assist their registrars with program administration. The ultimate goal is to create more time for registrars to study (and treat patients!).
RVTS has embarked on the path to quality certification. Our guide for the climb is QAS International, no stranger to the lofty, high altitude world of quality management. The journey promises to be both arduous and uplifting, as we review current policies and procedures, before tightening our systems and arriving at the summit of AS/ANZ ISO 9001;2008.
CAIRNS WORKSHOP
Clear your calendar for the second education workshop of the year from 11-15 October in Cairns. All three cohorts will be attending so it should be a great week. The RVTS Annual General Meeting will be held at 5pm on Friday the 15th. For those who can't get enough of hotel rooms and lecterns, the RACGP GP10 conference is being held the week prior.
RVTS REUNION
The reunion advertised in the past newsletter has been postponed and is planned for 20-21 November. Both social and educational components are on the cards.
TELETUTORIALS
Teletutorials resume on August 4 and 5. Those giving a registrar presentation are asked to forward their Powerpoint file to Amanda Hollands at the Albury office 2 weeks prior to the teletutorial.
2010 COHORT - Thursday evenings
| 5 Aug |
Asthma |
Peter Van Asperen |
| 12 Aug |
Registrar presentation |
Christel Smit |
| 19 Aug |
Headache |
Simon Hammond |
| 26 Aug |
Registrar presentation |
Rafik Mansour |
| 2 Sept |
Paediatrics |
Tom Gratten-Smith |
2009 COHORT - wednesday evenings
| 4 Aug |
Radiology |
Brad Milner |
| 11 Aug |
Registrar presentation |
Imran Hussain |
| 18 Aug |
Stroke |
Denis Crimmins |
| 25 Aug |
Registrar presentation |
Paula Ferguson |
| 1 Sept |
Impaired Doctor |
Jo Flynn |
2008 cohort - thursday evenings
| 5 Aug |
Childhood Obesity |
Kate Steinbeck |
| 12 Aug |
Registrar presentation |
Emilie Willcox |
| 19 Aug |
Medicare (ATSI & CCI) |
David Field |
| 26 Aug |
Registrar presentation |
Mark Demain |
| 2 Sept |
Obstetrics |
Lorri Hopkins |
Supervisor News
Dr Tim Llyod-Morgan, Childers, QLD 
After three months in my new role and a total of two workshops thus far, I have come to realise just how valuable, enthusiastic and important supervisor groups are. Not to mention how enthusiastic and willing the supervisors are to acquire new teaching skills.
As always, any success comes with challenges and RVTS' ongoing challenge is remaining connected with an ever growing number of supervisors and registrars. To this end we are developing a three year curriculum for supervisor education based around workshops, which I think will give us a comprehensive framework from which to deliver training. This will be launched at the Cairns Workshop in October.
Finally I think RVTS supervisors entirely refute the concept of ‘old dogs, new tricks'. Many of our supervisors are as experienced and venerable as myself and certainly prove over eager to acquire new skills.
At the CoalFace
Dr Rafik Mansour, Fitzroy Crossing WA
Rafik Mansour knew he wanted to be a doctor when he was 8 years old. "My uncle is a great doctor and I wanted to be like him," he says, "All of my family are doctors." A love of all branches of medicine made choosing a speciality a tricky decision. General Practice eventually won out. "I love dealing with the whole patient, their family, individual circumstances, workplace, the whole package."
Fitzroy Crossing certainly provides the variety Rafik craves. This outback town of 3500 services the needs of a predominantly indigenous population, plus graziers and miners from surrounding operations. In the dry season, a procession of tourists and adventurers exploring the rugged Kimberley region ensures hospital life is always interesting. Fitzroy Crossing is located on the main highway between Darwin and Broome and close to iconic tourist attractions such as Geikie Gorge, Tunnel Creek, the Gibb River Road and the Bungle Bungles.
After working as a GP in his homeland of Egypt for 4 years, Rafik moved to Australia and has been in Fitzroy Crossing for nearly 2 years. He is one of three doctors servicing the town's 14 bed hospital. "I generally work 9 to 10 hours a day, sometimes 13 hours when I'm on call," he says. Time off is spent relaxing and he travels the 450km to Broome every four weeks for some R&R. "Broome is really beautiful." 
A new addition to the RVTS family, Rafik joined the program as part of our 2010 cohort. He applied after learning of the program through the Kimberley Division of General Practice website. "The teletutorials are magnificent," he says, "The workshop was fantastic and the other registrars are really very nice. The program does everything for me, which I didn't expect."