John Flynn Prevocational Doctor Program
As part of the 2021-22 Budget, the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care announced the new John Flynn Prevocational Doctor Program (JFPDP). This program will better streamline and coordinate medical training in regions and fund new rural primary care rotations to rural hospital based prevocational junior doctors employed in MM 2-7 areas. The JFPDP is intended to build prevocational doctors’ confidence, exposure and interest in rural general practice and rural generalist medicine.
The intended outcomes of the JFPDP are:
- increased recruitment and retention of medical graduates and prevocational doctors in rural medical practice;
- greater uptake of rural generalist vocational training;
- increased rural medical training capacity, including rural general practices operating as vertically integrated teaching units for medical students, prevocational doctors, and GP registrars;
- strengthening the rural training pathway for general practice and rural generalism in expanded settings, in particular MM 3-7; and
- enhanced rural training networks to increase the supply of doctors in training to address current workforce shortages and meet the changing health needs of Australians.
The JFPDP commenced in January 2023 and is expected to expand in the coming years, offering increased rural primary care rotations to rural prevocational junior doctors in postgraduate years 1-5. In WA, the program is run by the WA Country Health Service (WACHS) through the Rural Generalist Pathway WA Coordination Unit.
Eligibility Criteria
To participate in the JFPDP, an applicant must be:
- An Australian citizen or permanent resident; and
- A WACHS-employed prevocational junior doctor in postgraduate year 1-5 at Albany Health Campus, Broome Health Campus or Bunbury Regional Hospital*.
*As the program expands, rotations may be offered to eligible WACHS prevocational junior doctors based in other regional locations.
While the program is available to a wide range of WACHS prevocational junior doctors, priority will be given to those who are:
- Postgraduate year 1-2
- An Australian graduate of an Australian medical school
- Intending on a career as a rural GP or rural generalist
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Application process
There is no separate application process to participate in the JFPDP. Eligible prevocational junior doctors can preference a JFPDP rotation within the term preference form provided to them by their local WACHS Medical Education/Admin team.
Participating primary care organisations
Currently there are four primary care organisations offering rural primary care rotations through the JFPDP. They are:
- Pioneer Health Albany, with junior doctors rotating out of Albany Health Campus
- South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS), with junior doctors rotating out of Bunbury Regional Hospital;
- Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS) and Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), with junior doctors rotating out of Broome Health Campus.
These organisations offer a positive and safe rural training experience for the participants by providing well-supported placements with good learning opportunities, support for the well-being and safety of prevocational doctors and by delivering competent medical care to their patients.
Further information
To find out more about the program, contact the Rural Generalist Pathway WA Coordination Unit on (08) 6553 0873 or email: ruralgeneralist@health.wa.gov.au.
Considering a career in country health? Living and working in regional WA is full of opportunities. Find out more about joining the WA Country Health Service team.