We welcome Dr Nige Gray and Dr Thilina Palihawadana to roles in the NTMP and A/Prof Kalinda Griffiths as Director of the Poche SA+NT. Thilina will continue with Year 2 Doctor and Patient teaching and also will enhance the Advanced studies program. He comes with experience in medical education and clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Nige will be working with Doctor and Patient learning also and provide support to strengthen the Community Based Medical Education semester in Year 3. He has recently met Alice Springs supervisors at Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Remote Health and General Practices to review the support we can provide and the student learning opportunities.

The NT Course Development Committee meets this month. This forum is for maintaining communication with stakeholders in the NT Medical Program ensuring clarity on delivery of the MD in our context.

The national Rural Medical Education meeting (FRAME) focused on the important initiatives and challenges of learning of medicine in the community. The Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand (MDANZ) have focused on the priority to improve the learning for generalism in medical schools. We considered the importance of community engagement in the programs for recruitment and retention of health staff in rural and remote areas. The most significant problem in optimising student experiences remotely is the bottleneck of available accommodation for students learning in these sites. Rural Clinical Schools continue the discussion with the Commonwealth on potential solutions.

We look forward to progressing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Governance of our program with Poche SA+NT and the Rural and Remote Health team.

A/Prof Emma Kennedy FRACGP, DRANZCOG, MFM, GAICD
Associate Professor in Medical Education and Training
Flinders NT Medical Program