A new rural generalist route could improve health outcomes in the regions, but more will need to be done to keep doctors in communities in dire need of GPs.
Public consultation on recognising rural generalism as a specialist field within general practice is open until Tuesday 12 December, after a joint application by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Royal Australian College of General Practice (RACGP).
The speciality would be officially recognised under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.
Rural Doctors Association of Australia president RT Lewandowski said it would provide a visible and tangible endpoint for doctors considering the career.
"It's not like you're training to be a surgeon and then at the end you're a surgeon," Dr Lewandowski said.
"There's not an end to that training, a place where you can say you're a rural generalist and everyone identifies that.
"Providing that defined endpoint certainly will attract people."
The rural generalist role often goes beyond the bounds of general practice and covers other advanced skills for the community, such as obstetrics, anaesthetics, mental health and paediatrics, as well as emergency medicine in small hospitals.
But the workforce has been under increased pressure after the federal government made changes last year to grant Distribution Priority Area status to more large regional towns and some outer metropolitan catchments, further diluting the pool of GPs.
Dr Lewandowski said government would have a part to play to encourage doctors into the discipline.
"We need a national pathway, a national design or training program, that targets people and helps direct them into rural medicine," Dr Lewandowski said.
"We'll look at areas like what defines rurality, and we need to talk about how you recognise the rural generalist with NDIS items and things like that.
"We do need to be cautious and appropriate when we label workforce areas of need and when we define what rural is."
Doctors and community members can have their say on the Medical Board of Australia website.
