At the heart of the ACRRM training program is the contribution of experienced, accredited supervisors supporting our registrars in general practices, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical services, hospitals and retrieval services, across remote, rural and regional Australia.

The College recruits, accredits and provides support and professional development for supervisors and their practices both directly and with the assistance of training organisations and support partners such as the General Practice Supervisors Association.

Supervisors provide clinical and educational supervision, monitoring and support for registrars.

Supervisors usually work on the same site as the registrar but may provide supervision offsite.

Scope of supervisor

  • Monitor, observe and follow up registrar’s clinical work
  • Ensure the registrar is working within their level of competence
  • Support development of learning plan
  • Facilitate case discussions
  • Provide feedback to registrars
  • Encourage registrar involvement in clinical audit
  • Encourage registrar self-directed learning and reflection
  • Provide practical skills teaching
  • Undertake workplace based assessments
  • Facilitate small group learning
  • Identify and support registrars in difficulty
  • Assist in assessment preparation
  • Enhance own education skills through regular supervision education
  • Act as a coach and mentor
  • Provide pastoral care
  • Ensure a safe supportive work environment

Qualifications / skills and experience to become a supervisor

Doctors meeting the following criteria are eligible to be an ACRRM supervisor

  • hold current medical registration with no conditions or limitations
  • are compliant with their College Professional Development Program
  • have rural experience
  • hold specialist qualifications relevant to the training post
    • Core Generalist Training:
      • primary care posts will be a Fellow of ACRRM or RACGP
      • secondary care posts will be a Fellow of ACRRM or RACGP or RACP
      • emergency posts will be a Fellow of ACRRM or RACGP or ACEM
    • Advanced Specialised Training supervisors
      • will be a Fellow of ACRRM or RACGP with expertise in the AST area or
      • a Fellow of a Specialist College relevant to the AST

Doctors not meeting all these criteria may be eligible and are considered case by case.

Prior to confirming accreditation, doctors must complete the following:

  • College online orientation course
  • College Supervision Essentials online course or another supervisor training course

Accredited supervisors can supervise an ACRRM registrar training on the ACRRM Fellowship Training Program on any training pathway.

Supervisors are supported, performance monitored, and a reaccreditation review is undertaken every three years.

Become Accredited

Training posts are accredited health services in which the registrar trains, under supervision, to meet the ACRRM training program requirements. ACRRM training posts are in primary, secondary, emergency and retrieval services. A training post may be a single health service or several health services.

Health services meeting the following criteria are eligible to apply to be an Core Generalist Training post:

  • General practices, generalist hospitals and Aboriginal Medical Services in a regional, rural, or remote location (MM2-7)
  • Retrieval services providing primary care clinics in remote locations

Health services eligible to apply for Advanced Specialised Training programs are dependent on the discipline. See the AST Handbooks for further information.

Health services must demonstrate, they

  • have doctors accredited or able to be accredited as a supervisor.
  • they are a quality health service and
  • are ready to train

Training posts that demonstrate meeting the standards through desk top review are awarded provisional accreditation. Provisionally accredited posts can train a registrar.

Holding accreditation does not guarantee a registrar. Training placements are dependent on a several factors including number of registrars seeking placement, registrar training requirements and preferences plus workforce considerations.

Full accreditation is awarded once a registrar has been training in the post for up to a year and the post has demonstrated being a quality training post. Training posts are reviewed for ongoing accreditation every three years.

Become Accredited