On Thursday 12 September, I was part of a group representing GPRA and GPSN at the Parliamentary Friends of General Practice and GPRA Breakfast Event with The Honourable Sophie Scamps MP, other Members of Parliament, and public servants. We met to present our calls to action to improve GP training in Australia, and as medical students we provided our perspectives on our exposure to and attitudes towards general practice, and what we think needs to change.
My fellow medical students April (Thompson) and Shawn (Yang) did an excellent job of articulating and emphasising how general practice is seen from a medical student perspective, and presenting specific ways in which we see that general practice promotion, training and work can and should be improved.
As the local Chair of the Australian National University GPSN Club, my view that I presented at this event came from my experience running the GPSN events this past year. I told my story about how the GPSN at ANU was able to improve attendance and engagement at our events this year, which I was really proud of.
However, I made it clear that GPSN events pale in comparison to other events run by other student societies like the Surgical Society and the Rural Medical Society, given that we receive much less funding than these clubs. I emphasised that medical school represents a crucial time in medical training to plant the seed of general practice as a possible career path, since committing to general practice training can be the only way to spend time in general practice after medical school.
Following the breakfast event, we had the opportunity to meet with some other Senators and MPs and their representatives, including Senator David Pocock and Senator Jacqui Lambie to present our calls to action. I was amazed by how receptive these people who make the decisions for us were to our stories and our suggestions.
Overall, this experience really emphasised to me the importance of advocacy in the world of general practice, and has inspired me to continue to call for change in general practice.
By Bridget McCormack
ANU GPSN Club Chair 2024
