Grandparenting for award of the RGA

The grandparenting process is aimed at the current practicing rural GP anaesthesia workforce. Its purpose is to allow this workforce to easily transition to the new qualification.

Applications close 31 December 2024

Eligibity

Applicants must:

Be current fellows of ACRRM and / or RACGP

As this is a qualification for rural generalists, fellowship with one of the general practice colleges is required.

Trainees of ACRRM and RACGP who have not completed all requirements for fellowship by the closing date will be granted an extension until 31 December 2025.

Specialists from other colleges who practice in the rural environment will not be eligible for award of the RGA.

JCCA letter of satisfactory completion of training or JCCA statement of equivalence

The JCCA letter of satisfactory completion of training is the current standard for rural GP anaesthesia and must be held at the time of application. A JCCA statement of equivalence will also be accepted.  

Rural generalists who do not hold the JCCA letter of completion of training or a JCCA statement of equivalence will not be eligible for this grandparenting process. They will have the opportunity to apply via the RPL process to transition to the RGA.

See below Options for rural generalist anaesthetists who do not hold the JCCA.

Be currently credentialed to practice anaesthesia in a rural environment

Credentialing occurs in rural and remote hospitals or regions and is valid for a defined time period. The credentialing must be current, include anaesthesia services and be for a rural location defined as Modified Monash Model 3-7.

Current epidural and paediatric competency will not be assessed for the purposes of grandparenting.

Scope of practice in your current workplace will continue to be determined by your credentialing committee. 

Demonstrate commitment to rural anaesthesia

Rural is defined as Modified Monash Model 3-7.

It is acknowledged that practice patterns vary. A minimum of 12 weeks service in a rural location per year, for each of the preceding 2 years, will usually be required to demonstrate rural commitment.

There will be discretion applied in how commitment to rural practice is assessed. The guiding principle will be if the services being provided require a trained rural generalist anaesthetist as opposed to those services provided by rural generalists without advances skills training in anaesthesia.

Please visit the grandparenting FAQs for further information.

 

Have current CPD relevant to anaesthesia

Applicants must meet the JCCA, RACGP or ACRRM anaesthesia CPD standard. More recent JCCA registrars will need to show evidence of involvement in CPD.
 

Application process        

To apply for grandparenting applicants must:

  1. Complete the grandparenting application form
  2. Attach the required evidence
  3. Pay the non-refundable grandparenting application fee


Apply now
 

Options for rural generalist anaesthetists who do not hold the JCCA letter of satisfactory completion of training or JCCA statement of equivalence

Currently practising rural generalist anaesthetists without a JCCA letter of satisfactory completion of training or JCCA statement of equivalence have the following options:

1) Apply for RPLE towards the RGA Training program

This will require meeting all requirements of RGA competencies including paediatrics and epidurals. Credit will be awarded for past training and experience. You may need to complete in some training time in addition to passing the RGA Standardised Structured Scenario-based assessment (RGA-SSSA).

2) Continue practising as previously with no JCCA letter of satisfactory completion of training, JCCA statement of equivalence or RGA.

Currently, to be employed as a rural generalist anaesthetist you need to provide your hospital’s credentialing committee with evidence of appropriate training and experience in anaesthetic practice.

It is anticipated that in the immediate future credentialing committees will continue to recognise similar evidence of training and experience in anaesthetic practice as they have in the past.
 

If you have a query about the grandparenting process that is not answered here, please visit the FAQs on grandparenting or contact us at rga@anzca.edu.au

Last updated 10:31 21.12.2023