The Faculty Trainee Committee (FtC) is a representative forum for trainee views and to advocate for enhanced training and educational experiences for the AFPHM trainee community throughout Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

The FtC met via Zoom on Friday, 3 November. The following communiqué highlights the recent activities of the FtC as well as key topic discussions from the meeting.

Education program

Since commencing in March 2023, the bi-national training program with fortnightly teaching sessions provided to all trainees received positive feedback for the exceptional quality and practicality of its teaching. We thank Dr Greg Stewart, Dr Penelope Fotheringham, and members of the working party for the set up and running of this program. If you did not receive the invite for these sessions or require the related resources, please reach out to your jurisdictional representative. Whilst the teaching program has now finished for 2023, we look forward to the program returning in 2024.
This year, the National Training Days were held in a hybrid format (with in-person attendance in Sydney) over two mornings on the 29th and 30th of August. Sessions focused on environmental health, and legal and regulatory issues for public health practice. The FtC would like to acknowledge the efforts of Dr Greg Stewart, Dr Mavis Duncanson, and Dr Penelope Fotheringham for their work in coordinating the 2023 National Training Days. The National Training Days in 2024 are anticipated to be held around RACP Congress in Sydney in May.

Gerry Murphy Prize competition structure

At the request of AFPHM Council, the FtC developed a proposal for how the Gerry Murphy Prize (GMP) competition may be structured from 2024 onwards. The proposal was presented to Council and endorsed by the AFPHM Council members at their June meeting in 2023. The adjusted structure for jurisdictional competitions and altered format options has been adopted for the 2024 competition onwards. We wish all the GMP candidates best of luck for their jurisdictional competitions to be held over the next month, and for the final competition mid-2024.

FtC Workplan

As per the Committee’s Terms of Reference, the FtC is required to develop a workplan and provide an update to AFPHM Council each year. The purpose of the workplan is to outline the key issues that the FtC will seek to address and the proposed actions to be undertaken in advocating for improved training and educational experiences for all trainees. The FtC has progressed their workplan over the past two quarters and have endorsed a final version at their November meeting. This finalised workplan will be presented to Council for approval in November 2023.

Assessments

FtC advocacy around training assessment items is ongoing. Although small steps have been achieved (such as instituting acknowledgement receipts for workplace reports), there is still work to be done. This is an issue that AFPHM President Jeanette Ward is also keen to see meaningful progress on and is supportive of the FtC’s efforts for improvement.
With the AFPHM Curriculum Review underway, it is yet to be clarified how this will influence assessment items. When this information is made available it will be shared with the trainee cohort.
The Curriculum Review Group (CRG) includes two AFPHM trainees and the FtC expresses their gratitude for their representation in that space and their advocacy for improving trainee education and assessment experience on behalf of all AFPHM trainees.
A brief was submitted by the FtC to the Faculty Training Committee which was discussed at their August meeting this year. The FtC welcomes feedback from the Chair of the Faculty Education Committee on the average turnaround times for assessment of learning contracts and learning contract reports. The FtC also welcomes the anecdotal reports from trainees of quick turnaround times for receiving marked Advanced Training Research Projects. 

Transparency on Trainee Education Expenditure

Previously in a communiqué it was noted that the RACP Fees and Benchmarking Report for 2022 included a reference to “How a trainee subscription is spent”, which stated that 72% of the average trainee fee for 2022 ($3,690) was spent on “Education”; further clarifying that “72 cents in every dollar goes to the provision of education services”. In resolving to obtain transparent breakdown on the use of trainee fees, this issue was raised at AFPHM Council and with the College Trainee Committee (CTC). The CTC Chair and Deputy Chair wrote to the RACP Board President Dr Jacqueline Small and return correspondence from Dr Small indicated that the RACP Board would consider the request after its September meeting. Feedback from the RACP Board discussion is awaited and is being followed up by the FtC’s representative on the CTC.

Trainee Survey

As the current RACP Physician Training Survey and the Medical Training Survey don’t capture the nuances of AFPHM training, the FtC is looking to conduct an AFPHM Trainee Survey, in order to systematically identify issues pertinent to AFPHM trainees and monitor progress towards solutions. AFPHM Council and the RACP College Dean Dr Kudzai Kanhutu have expressed their support for conducting this survey. The FtC will progress a draft version of the survey for their first meeting in 2024, building on the work of a previously conducted AFPHM-specific trainee survey in 2020. Updates on progress towards conducting the survey will be provided in future communiqués.

General

The Trainee Welcome Pack has now been formally approved. Options on how to best disseminate the information are currently being explored in cooperation with the RACP Digital Experience team who manages the RACP website.
If you have any specific questions about or need assistance with your Learning Contract or Learning Contract Report, please email Jennifer Desrosiers (Learning Contract Advisor) at jennifer.desrosiers@racp.edu.au.

As always, please be aware of trainee representative opportunities that arise from time-to-time; they are posted on the RACP EOI page and are communicated through the ROC. Active involvement with the Faculty (both during and after your training time) is a great opportunity to advocate for positive changes to take place. If you would like further information, please reach out to your jurisdictional representative.

Contact Your Trainee Representative

All AFPHM Trainee Committee members are listed at the top of this communiqué. Please reach out to your jurisdictional representative and advise if you would like any issues raised or have feedback on any of the above topics.

To contact the relevant committee members, please email the Faculty Office at afphm@racp.edu.au.

• Tuesday, 12 March
• Friday, 31 May
• Thursday, 29 August
• Wednesday, 13 November

Dr Anwyn Pyle
Deputy Chair, AFPHM Trainee Committee