Editing General practitioner (section)

== Oceania ==

=== Australia ===
{{See also|Health care in Australia}}
General Practice in Australia and New Zealand has undergone many changes in training requirements over the past decade. The basic medical degree in Australia is the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery), which has traditionally been attained after completion of an undergraduate five or six-year course. Over the last few years, an ever-increasing number of post-graduate four-year medical programs (previous bachelor's degree required) have become more common and now account more than half of all Australian medical graduates. After graduating, a one-year internship is completed in a public and private hospitals prior to obtaining full registration. Many newly registered medical practitioners undergo one year or more of pre-vocational position as Resident Medical Officers (different titles depending on jurisdictions) before specialist training begins. For general practice training, the medical practitioner then applies to enter a three- or four-year program either through the "Australian General Practice Training Program", "Remote Vocational Training Scheme" or "Independent Pathway".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpet.com.au/Junior-doctors/Australian-General-Practice-Training--AGPT--program/About-the-Australian-General-Practice-Training-program |title=About the AGPT program |publisher=General Practice Education and Training Limited |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607004404/http://www.gpet.com.au/Junior-doctors/Australian-General-Practice-Training--AGPT--program/About-the-Australian-General-Practice-Training-program |archive-date=7 June 2014 }}</ref> The Australian Government has announced an expansion of the number of GP training places through the AGPT program- 1,500 places per year will be available by 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/work-st-agpt |title=Australian General Practice Training program (AGPT) |publisher=Australian Government Department of Health |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606223408/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/work-st-agpt |archive-date=6 June 2014 }}</ref>
 
A combination of coursework and apprenticeship type training leading to the awarding of the FRACGP (Fellowship of the [[Royal Australian College of General Practitioners]]) or FACRRM (Fellowship of [[Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine]]), if successful. Since 1996 this qualification or its equivalent has been required in order for new GPs to access [[Medicare (Australia)|Medicare]] rebates as a specialist general practitioner. Doctors who graduated prior to 1992 and who had worked in general practice for a specified period of time were recognized as "Vocationally Registered" or "VR" GPs, and given automatic and continuing eligibility for general practice Medicare rebates.<ref>[[Royal Australian College of General Practitioners]]</ref> There is a sizable group of doctors who have identical qualifications and experience, but who have been denied access to VR recognition. They are termed "Non-Vocationally Registered" or so-called "non-VR" GPs.<ref name="ama.com.au">{{cite web |url=https://ama.com.au/non-vocationally-registered-gps |title=Non-vocationally registered GPS &#124; Australian Medical Association |access-date=2014-12-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929081217/https://ama.com.au/non-vocationally-registered-gps |archive-date=2014-09-29 }}</ref> The federal government of Australia recognizes the experience and competence of these doctors, by allowing them access to the "specialist" GP Medicare rebates for working in areas of government policy priority, such as areas of workforce shortage, and metropolitan after hours service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.health.gov.au/omps|title=Other Medical Practitioners (OMPs) programmes|first=Australian Government Department of Health, Health Workforce|last=Division|website=www.health.gov.au|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214060221/http://www.health.gov.au/omps|archive-date=2014-12-14|access-date=2014-12-14}}</ref> Some programs awarded permanent and unrestricted eligibility for VR rebate levels after 5 years of practice under the program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/work-pr-momps|title=MedicarePlus for Other Medical Practitioners (MOMPs) Programme|first=Australian Government Department of Health, Mental Health and Workforce|last=Division|website=www.health.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214064721/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/work-pr-momps|archive-date=2014-12-14}}</ref> There is a community-based campaign in support of these so-called Non-VR doctors being granted full and permanent recognition of their experience and expertise, as fully identical with the previous generation of pre-1996 "grandfathered" GPs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairgofordoctors.org/bureaucratic-discrimination/|title=Bureaucratic discrimination|website=www.fairgofordoctors.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214092115/http://www.fairgofordoctors.org/bureaucratic-discrimination/|archive-date=2014-12-14}}</ref> This campaign is supported by the official policy of the Australian Medical Association (AMA).<ref name="ama.com.au"/>

Medicare is Australia's [[universal health care|universal health insurance]] system, and without access to it, a practitioner cannot effectively work in private practice in Australia. {{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}

Procedural General Practice training in combination with General Practice Fellowship was first established by the "Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine" in 2004. This new fellowship was developed in aid to recognise the specialised skills required to work within a rural and remote context. In addition it was hoped to recognise the impending urgency of training Rural Procedural Practitioners to sustain Obstetric and Surgical services within rural Australia. Each training registrar select a speciality that can be used in a rural area from the Advanced Skills Training list and spends a minimum of 12 months completing this specialty, the most common of which are Surgery, Obstetrics/Gynaecology and Anaesthetics. Further choices of specialty include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, Adult Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Mental Health, Paediatrics, Population health and Remote Medicine. Shortly after the establishment of the FACRRM, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners introduced an additional training year (from the basic 3 years) to offer the "Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice". The additional year, or Advanced Rural Skills Training (ARST)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.racgp.org.au/education/rural-programs/advanced-skills/ |title=Advanced rural skills training (ARST) |publisher=Royal Australian College of General Practitioners |access-date=3 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625063153/http://www.racgp.org.au/education/rural-programs/advanced-skills/ |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> can be conducted in various locations from Tertiary Hospitals to Small General Practice.

The competent authority pathway is a work-based place assessment process to support International Medical Graduates (IMGs) wishing to work in General Practice. Approval for the ACRRM to undertake these assessments was granted by the Australian Medical Council in August 2010 and the process is to be streamlined in July 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.acrrm.org.au/competent-authority-pathway-for-general-practice |title=Competent Authority Pathway for General Practice |publisher=Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine |date=14 May 2014 |access-date=7 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714202935/https://www.acrrm.org.au/competent-authority-pathway-for-general-practice |archive-date=14 July 2014 }}</ref>

=== New Zealand ===
In New Zealand, most GPs work in clinics and health centres<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs/health/general-practitioner/about-the-job |title=General Practitioner: About the job |publisher=Careers New Zealand |date=5 November 2013 |access-date=3 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009111434/http://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs/health/general-practitioner/about-the-job |archive-date=9 October 2014 }}</ref> usually as part of a [[Primary Health Organisation]] (PHO). These are funded at a population level, based on the characteristics of a practice's enrolled population (referred to as capitation-based funding). Fee-for-service arrangements still exist with other funders such as [[Accident Compensation Corporation]] (ACC) and Ministry of Social Development (MSD), as well as receiving co-payments from patients to top-up the capitation-based funding.

The basic medical degree in New Zealand is the MBChB degree (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery), which has traditionally been attained after completion of an undergraduate five or six-year course. In NZ new graduates must complete the GPEP (General Practice Education Program) Stages I and II in order to be granted the title Fellowship of the [[Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners]] (FRNZCGP), which includes the PRIMEX assessment and further CME and Peer group learning sessions as directed by the RNZCGP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpep.co.nz/gpep/ |title=GPEP - General Practice Education Training Programme |publisher=The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605051839/http://www.gpep.co.nz/gpep/ |archive-date=5 June 2014 }}</ref> Holders of the award of FRNZCGP may apply for specialist recognition with the New Zealand Medical Council (MCNZ), after which they are considered specialists in General Practice by the council and the community.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mcnz.org.nz/get-registered/scopes-of-practice/vocational-registration/types-of-vocational-scope/general-practice/ |title=General practice |publisher=Medical Council of New Zealand |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531143204/https://www.mcnz.org.nz/get-registered/scopes-of-practice/vocational-registration/types-of-vocational-scope/general-practice/ |archive-date=31 May 2014 }}</ref> In 2009 the NZ Government increased the number of places available on the state-funded programme for GP training.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10546968 |title=State GP training overtakes user-pay scheme |last=Johnston |first=Martin |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=8 December 2008 |access-date=3 June 2014}}</ref>

There is a shortage of GPs in rural areas and increasingly outer metropolitan areas of large cities, which has led to the use of overseas trained doctors (international medical graduates (IMGs)).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Skerrett |first1=Angie |title='Concerning trend': Study shows further decline in rural doctor numbers |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/rural/2019/05/concerning-trend-study-shows-further-decline-in-rural-doctor-numbers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514035504/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/rural/2019/05/concerning-trend-study-shows-further-decline-in-rural-doctor-numbers.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 May 2019 |access-date=30 March 2020 |work=Newshub}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Trigger |first1=Sophie |title=GP registrars choose city training as under-doctored regions flounder |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/113826263/gp-registrars-choose-city-training-as-underdoctored-regions-flounder |access-date=30 March 2020 |date=2 July 2019}}</ref>