New rural derm training model in works

The ACD has received funding to develop a collaborative training approach that aims to keep dermatologists in western NSW.

The Australasian College of Dermatologists has this week launched a new program to develop and implement a new training model in western New South Wales that it hopes will address increasing workforce shortages in rural and regional areas.

The new project is funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care through the Flexible Approach to Training in Expanded Settings (FATES) scheme.

Representatives from the Western NSW Local Health District, the Orange Aboriginal Medical Service, the Western NSW Regional Training Hub, the Sydney University School of Rural Health, and Pinnacle Dermatology (a private practice based in Orange) will work together to design a collaborative training model that would allow trainees in western NSW to complete most of their training locally.

“Like many medical specialties, Australia’s specialist dermatologist workforce is in shortage and maldistributed,” said ACD president Dr Adrienne Lee.

“The project will leverage the collective ideas, knowledge, relationships and resources of the consortium to co-design and build a rural-centric training and service delivery model for Western NSW.

“We hope that by doing this successfully we can enable aspiring dermatologists from Western NSW to train and practice in their home region, boosting service provision in Western NSW for the long term and providing a blueprint for creating pathways in other locations and specialties nationally.”

Dr Michelle McRae, an Orange-based dermatologist who will be part of the co-design process, knows all about the benefits and challenges of working in rural areas. Dr McRae is the only full-time dermatologist who lives west of the Blue Mountains.

“There are a wealth of opportunities and experiences not available in urban locations, from exposure to a wider variety of clinical cases and experiences, to being part of a close-knit community and valued, dedicated and passionate rural health workforce. Every day, we get to make a tangible difference to the lives of our rural patients, to our communities and to closing the health equity gap,” she told the media.

“Yet, when it comes to entering specialist training, the shortage of consultants, and therefore of supervisors, in regional areas, all too often results in trainees having to relocate to metropolitan centres for all or most of their years of specialty training losing the collegiality, community and professional connections they have developed with many never returning.”

The ACD has successfully completed two previous projects funded by the FATES scheme.

The first delivered a rotational supervisory model to trainees in Darwin and the Top End of the Northern Territory, while the second resulted in a hybrid training model that linked clinicians from Townsville University Hospital with staff from the Melanoma Institute of Australia in Sydney.

Work on a third FATES-funded project, with the goal of improving the number of clinical services and training opportunities in Hobart, is currently underway.

Further details on the FATES-funded projects and the college’s workforce strategy will be presented at this weekend’s Rural Dermatology Meeting in Hobart, or are available on the ACD website.