Middle Ridge Medical Centre

ASGC-RA:	2
CSQTC Training Node:	Toowoomba & Surrounds
Training Practice Level	1
Other Categories	N/A
Additional Classification	Rural,
Division of General Practice:	GP Connections (formerly Toowoomba Div GP)
Training Practice Accreditation:	2007-2009 RACGP: Yes ACRRM: No PGPPP: No Medical Student Programs: No First Wave Scholarship: No Dates: 7/01/2013 - 7/01/2016
Practice Personnel:	Number of GPs: 4 Full Time   4 Part Time Number of Trainer/Supervisor's: 4 Full Time   4 Part Time Number of Nurses: 2 Full Time   1 Part Time Number of Administrative Staff : 4 Full Time   4 Part Time Number of Other Personnel (): 0 Full Time  0 Part Time
Practice Operating Hours:	Weekdays: 8.30am - 5.30pm Saturday: 3 or 4 per month, 8.00am - 12 noon Sunday: After Hours Arrangements: After-hours General Practice Clinic at Toowoomba 7 Day Medical Centre
Hours expected of Registrar:	Ordinary Hours: 8.30am - 5.30pm Evenings: As per roster Saturdays: As per roster Sundays: As per Roster After Hours: As per roster On Call: As per roster
Practice Facilities:	Dedicated Consulting Room for Registrar: 1 Shared Consulting Room for Registrar: 0 Treatment Room: 2 Additional Equipment: Additional Facilities:
Involvement with Local Hospital:	St Vincent's Hospital and St Andrew's Hospital
Involvement with Local Nursing Homes:	There are a number of Aged Care Facilities where our patients reside.  As such registrars see patients in several facilities through out Toowoomba.
Home Visits:	Offers Home Visits : Yes Approach to Registrar’s orientation and safety for such visits: Expected Registrar work expected at any additional locations mentioned in this section (branch, hospital, nursing home, home visits):
CSQTC Financial Support:	Relocating: $3020.00 Not Relocating: $1440.00 Subsidised Rental Accommodation is available: Not Available
Practice Will Consider:	Part Time Registrars

The main location for the GP Registrar to work is Middle Ridge Medical Centre, corner of Spring and Ramsay Streets, Toowoomba. It is expected the hours of work would be between 8.30am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Patient numbers would not exceed 4 per hour during those times. Because this is a large Practice the GP Registrar would be exposed to a variety of work which would not be available at a smaller Practice. The nature of work would be all that is associated with being a general practitioner.

 

There is also an after hours clinic conducted at Toowoomba 7 Day Medical centre between 6.00pm and 8.00pm each weekday evening. The GP Registrar would attend this clinic approximately one evening per Month and 1 weekend per Quarter on roster and with supervision.

The ethos of the surgery is that training of doctors is of paramount importance. The surgery is committed to the release of GP Registrars to all educational workshops. At any one time the surgery has 2 GP Registrars and one student who are in various stages of training.

The GP Trainers are highly motivated devoting a significant amount of their own time and surgery time to training. Each GP Registrar has 2 hours of both formal and informal training each week. GP Trainers are available at anytime to assist the GP Registrars wherever and whenever assistance is required.

The GP Trainers use a range of teaching Practices depending upon the needs of the GP Registrars. The GP Registrars are encouraged to develop a learning plan within the first four weeks of their placement and are assisted to reach goals set out in their learning plan. This may be by topic discussion, case discussion or presentation, role play, small group module learning. The latter involves all the doctors in the Practice as a form of professional development which the GP Registrars are encouraged to attend.

They are encouraged to take part in online learning activities with RACGP and AACRM. Some of these online units are used by the GP Trainers as learning units of training.

The Practice has an appointed GP Practice Manager with 8 years experience in Medical Practice management. The Practice acts as an advocate as well as a mentor to the GP Registrars

- GP Registrars are encouraged to attend Practice Management meetings
- Up to 2 hours per week is scheduled for both formal and informal training for each GP Registrar. Should the need arise additional time would be allocated
- To ensure the GP Registrar is not under any undue pressure no more that 4 patients per hour is scheduled. Should it be necessary the number of patients per hour can be reduced
- GP Registrars have the option of full time employment at this surgery once they have completed their training.

Medical Records:	Fully Computerised
Computerised Components:	N/A
Computer Software Used:	Medical Director 3 & PracSoft
Billing Style:	Mixed Billing Predominantly Private Billing
Internet Access Available :	Continuous
Additional Information :	Levels and type of computerisation in the Practice - Computerised billing system - Computerised appointment system - Fully computerised medical records system Internet access for GP Registrars - Continuous internet access in GP Registrar's consulting room - Speed of internet access is Broadband Hardware and software specifications Software: - Medical Director - PracSoft - Microsoft Office 2000 Hardware: - Each GP Registrar has their own consulting room which has a desktop computer linked to the network via a server. They are able to access their patients details via this system as well as receive results from Sullivan & Nicolaides, QLD X-ray, QLD Health Pathology and Darling Downs Radiology

Aged Care
Chronic Disease Management
Communication Skills
Mens Health
Mental Health
Palliative Care
Practice Management
Rural Medicine
Skin Cancer Medicine
Surgical Procedures
Womens Health


Other Special Interests:



Involvement in practice-based clinical research:



Approach to a registrar wanting to undertake clinical research in your practice:

Procedure Performed at the Practice:

Minor Invasive procedures are performed at the Practice.

Dr Patricia Stuart
- Private practice in Toowoomba
- Examiner for RACGP

-  Medical Student and GP Registrar teaching
- Appoointed to UQ Rural Clinical School
- Appointed to CSQTC, involved in organising workshops for GP Registrars and GP Trainers, doing ECT visits, etc
- Member of AMA, RACGP, RDAA, RDAQ, ACCRM
- Maintains professional development with regular attendance at RACGP, Divisional and ACCRM educational sessions as well as weekly one hour sessions with other doctors at surgery. The latter is in addition to teaching given to GP Registrars
- Member of Zonta Club of Toowoomba inc, including two years as president and two years chairing regional committee involved with establishing Zonta as a community network for rural women

Dr Robert Gillespie
- Involved in training registrars for General Practice Training Medical students
- GP in Toowoomba
- Commonwealth Medical Officer
- Aviation Medical Examiner for CASA
- Approved Medical Examiner for CAMS
- Visiting rights St Andrews and St Vincent's Hospital
- Visiting rights at Toowoomba Hospice
- Involved as GP Trainer in training GP Registrars
- Member of AMA, RACGP, RDAQ, ACCRM
- Member of local Division, GP Connections
- Has regularly attended workshops in professional development for primary care. This has included professional, development for GP Trainers
- Actively involved in medical student teaching within the Practice
- Special interests in medicine include geriatrics, diabetes, management and treatment of skin lesions
- Actively involved in a skin clinic run at the surgery one day per week

Dr Paul Layton
- General Practitioner Middle Ridge Medical Centre

Dr Stephen Shorey
- General Practitioner Middle Ridge Medical Centre

Dr Kim Bonk
- General Practitioner Middle Ridge Medical Centre 

- appointed to CSQTC

Dr Karen Breed
- General Practitioner Middle Ridge Medical Centre

Dr Fiona Stobbs
- General Practitioner Middle Ridge Medical Centre

Dr Felicity Rea
- General Practitioner Middle Ridge Medical Centre

- appointed to UQ Rural Clinical School

- RFDS

- A general practice textbook (eg General Practice by John Murtagh)
- Therapeutic Guidelines series
- Access to the 'Red Book' - Guidelines for Preventative Activities in General Practice
- Systematically organised patient information leaflets
- A general medical reference (eg Oxford Textbook of Medicine)
- A textbook on minor surgery and procedures (eg Procedures for Primary Care Physicians)
- Access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- Access to a current medication reference (eg MediMedia Australia Annual [MIMS]
- Access to evidence in a suitable form (eg The Cochrane Library via the internet)
- Other books reflecting the workload in a practice (eg Nelson's Textbook of Paediatrics)

Other resources
- GP Registrars have to be available within the Practice 3 Registered Nurses  as well as a GP Practice Manager

- All allied health professionals are available to assist the GP Registrars in need
- As well GP Registrars have full online access from their consulting rooms to RACGP, RRMEO, ACCRM

GP Registrars consulting rooms are strategically placed alongside GP Trainers rooms. This ensures that should a GP Registrar require assistance at any time a GP Trainer is available

- House calls are not usually undertaken by GP Registrars
- Regarding after hours support GP Registrars are given a list of staff contact numbers which they can ring if assistance is required. As with surgery consultations they are encouraged to seek assistance when required from the GP Trainers
- The ethos of the surgery ensures there is a strong support mechanism available to GP Registrars

Registrar to make own arrangements.

The surgery is located on the corner of Spring and Ramsay Streets, in Middle Ridge, one of Toowoomba's fastest growing suburbs

- 48% of the Practice's patients are under the age of 40. Of that 55% are females and 45% are males. Conversely 17% of patients are aged 60 years or more
- Patients present for a broad range of medical conditions which assists the registrars with their training. The GP Registrars are exposed to the full range of primary care from the provision of ante natal care all the way through to aged care, ie. from the cradle to the grave
- Skin clinics are conducted throughout the week and registrars can participate under the supervision of their GP Trainer
- Doctors within the Practice hold visiting rights at both private hospitals - St Andrews and St Vincents, and also the Toowoomba Hospice. These rights are obtained for each registrar at the commencement of their term and they are encouraged to care for patients in hospital and palliative care situations. They are supported and mentored in this experience
- A Practice nurse does health assessments, diabetic assessments and care plans for elderly patients. Again GP Registrars are encouraged to participate
- Overall GP Registrars are presented with a genuine opportunity to be involved in a practice which offers a broad range of patients and presenting problems

Population:
Demographic:
Number of General Practices in the area:
GP Population:
Local Hospitals:
Regional Services:
Travelling time to major centres:

The Practice has the following policies for social support for GP Registrars and their families:
- Six weekly dinner meetings with GP Trainers/doctors
- Three monthly social get together with families and staff of the surgery
- Informal weekly meetings between doctors/GP Trainers and GP Registrars

Assistance is given to GP Registrars and their families to help them settle into their new environment. Assistance is provided with obtaining accommodation either by providing an introduction to rental agencies or the surgery finding suitable accommodation in a good area. Information about the area is provided through publications and discussions. If they desire then a personal tour would be arranged for them.