The GP Synergy Research and Evaluation Unit was launched in February 2016 with the finalisation of an agreement with the Department of Health to continue the longstanding Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) research project. The ReCEnT project is a flagship general practice education and training project.
It is the first of its kind to document Australian GP registrars’ educational and clinical experience over time by measuring:
- what registrars do
- the types of patients and conditions they see
- the advice they provide
- how registrars’ practice changes during their training.
- the effects on registrars’ practice of educational activities.
The ReCEnT team is located within GP Synergy’s NSW and ACT Research and Evaluation Unit based in GP Synergy’s Newcastle office. Since the project’s inception, more than 328,000 clinical encounters have been recorded by over 2330 registrars.
Why is ReCEnT important?
The project is invaluable to registrars, supervisors and practice managers in understanding registrars’ experiences, and in reflecting on areas of their practice that may need to change or improve. Feedback reports are provided to the registrars for their own reflection to gain insight in to their practice. This is a reflective exercise and not a benchmarking exercise.
Practices also receive an Annual Practice Report when more than five registrars have participated in the program at their practice, providing insight into the clinical exposure and aspects of the clinical and educational experience of registrars in the practice.
Where registrars have provided written consent for their data to be also used for research purposes, it is analysed by the ReCEnT team to provide insights into registrars’ clinical and educational practice. GP registrars, GP supervisors, medical educators, and Australian and international experts in clinical or educational practice and research have collaborated with the ReCEnT team in a number of these analyses. Papers and conference presentations based on ReCEnT data can be found here.
ReCEnT findings categorised by research ‘themes’ can be found, along with findings from other GP Synergy Research and Evaluation Unit work, here.
ReCEnT background
ReCEnT began as a pilot project in 2009 with the former regional training provider General Practice Training – Valley to Coast, and quickly grew to become a large collaborative venture.
Prior to 2016, the collaboration involved Regional Training Providers General Practice Training-Valley to Coast, General Practice Training Tasmania, the Victorian Metropolitan Alliance, Adelaide to Outback General Practice Training and Tropical Medicine Training.
Since 2016 the collaborating training organizations have been GP Synergy, Eastern Victoria General Practice Training and General Practice Training Tasmania.
The project has been supported by the Australian Department of Health through the participating regional training providers and since 2016, by a Department of Health research grant.
