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New GP Orientation Workshop unites nationalities new to rural medicine in Australia
28th March 2025
RDN’s New GP Orientation Workshops continue to grow in popularity, with double the number of doctors attending this year compared to last year. The workshops offer a two-day introduction to practising medicine in Australia, with a particular focus on rural general practice.
“The New GP Orientation Workshop aims to support and guide new GPs who are about to start or have recently begun in rural practice, offering valuable insights and resources to ease the transition,” says RDN Workforce Support Lead, Alannah Keogh.
“NGPO serves as a unique opportunity to network with peers, gain essential knowledge, and build the confidence needed to thrive in a rural healthcare setting.”
The 15 participants at Port Macquarie once again represented a rich diversity of national origins, having migrated to Australia from as far afield as India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan, the UAE, USA, Turkey, the Phillipines, Iran and Egypt.
Dr Meryem Kucukasci Cagdas came to Australia from Turkey almost 8 years ago and, after working as an O&G registrar at Bendigo in Victoria, is now starting as a GP Registrar at Wollongong Doctors. In her early years in Australia, Dr Cagdas experienced all the challenges of homesickness and isolation that many health professionals can feel in a new country and was delighted to be invited to the workshop.
“The NGPO workshop was incredibly insightful,” she told RDN. “The explanation of the GP fellowship programmes as well as the discussions on women's health, mental health aspects, all the legal aspects and workers compensation in the motivational interviewing was amazing and they were highly informative. I truly appreciate the depth of knowledge shared and the clarity in presenting these important topics and thank you for such a valuable session.”
Dr Imodu Balogun of O Plus Health Grafton came to Australia from Nigeria in 2018 and has been working as a GP in Grafton since 2024. “To me it's very, very important that new GPs have such an orientation when coming to a different health system,” Dr Balogun told RDN.
"Coming to the NGPO conference, you learn about the ways of the Australian health system and the modus operandi... I've been able to get a clearer picture of going through your training programme, either to become a fellow with RACGP or a fellow with ACRRM,” he said.
“So many people don't know about these incentives, they don't know about the scholarship, they're just going through all by themselves, but the RDN family has been able to guide us through to access these packages.
“I have gained this family welcome into the Australian general practice and to the rural setting... They're a very wonderful family, I must say, and I thank RDN for all their help and support.”
Dr Jo Taylor of Newcastle University presented to the group on patient-centred care and motivational interviewing techniques, and says that the cultural diversity of the participants will serve as a great strength in delivering healthcare across modern Australia’s culturally diverse landscape.
“I'm particularly interested in supporting migrant clinicians. I enjoy their difference of opinions and ways of doing things,” Dr Taylor said. “There's never a session that I deliver where I haven't learnt something from someone. And that's, you know, that's the humbling and the, the richness of it.”
Left to right: Dr Meryem Kucukasci Cagdas, Dr Jo Taylor and Dr Imodu Balogun
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