Rural GPs Refresher Conference welcomes rural doctor community to Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie, NSW, became the centre of the rural GP universe over the weekend, as RDN and the Rural Doctors' Association of NSW, with the support of NSW Health, welcomed a record attendance of more than 250 rural GPs, medical students and guest speakers for the 2025 Rural GPs Refresher Conference.   

The family friendly annual Refresher Conference is designed specifically for rural GPs, featuring relevant clinical and non-clinical sessions, hands-on workshops, and fun social events. All content is tailored to rural practice needs and the conference is accredited by ACRRM and RACGP, supporting professional development.    

The main conference had a diverse program which included presentations on Generative AI in healthcare, Rural Generalist Single Employer Pathway, Endocrine Pearls for GPs, ADHD in General Practice, Assessing at risk drivers and the role of Occupational Therapy Driver Assessment. 

Also taking place at Port Macquarie to coincide with Refresher was RDN’s Student Refresher Conference, with 52 Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadets in attendance. RDN’s New GP Orientation workshops and Advanced Life Support 1 & 2 workshops were also held on Wednesday to Friday ahead of the weekend’s events, allowing GPs to make the most of their time away from the office. 

Apart from its beautiful port and beaches, Port Macquarie is koala country and a fully supervised Children’s Program was offered, including a visit to the wonderful Billabong Zoo Koala & Wildlife Park.  

The social highlight of the conference was once again the Saturday night Conference Dinner, which brought together the student cadets and rural GPs, enabling the “voices of experience” and the “doctors of tomorrow” to exchange insights on rural health, and enjoy some beautiful food and entertainment.  

"Refresher has grown steadily year on year, which I think is a testament to its relaxed feel and great family-friendly environment," said RDN Conferences and Events Manager Lindsey Eifler. "In addition to our rural-focused education program we had lots of opportunities for delegates to unwind and we didn’t forget about their families either with our fantastic kids program supported by Rural Nannies.

"Being in Port Macquarie we wanted to showcase the region as well and included a great local Indigenous performer and a talk from Australia’s first koala hospital, the Koala Conservation Hospital Port Macquarie we are looking forward to next year," Lindsey said.

RDN would like to thank the following sponsors for making the GPs Refresher Conference possible for 2025 and for assisting RDN’s efforts to support and sustain a health workforce capable of delivering high quality and safe care in remote, rural, regional, Aboriginal and low-resourced communities. 

• Chiesi Australia 
• Arrotex 
• AstraZeneca 
• Bayer 
• Diabetes Australia 
• GSK 
• HETI 
• iNova Pharmaceuticals 
• RACGP 
• RHP 
• Virtus Health - IVF Australia 
• Viatris

Further reading:

• Student Refresher Conference at Port Macquarie inspires "doctors of tomorrow"
• New GP Orientation Workshop unites nationalities new to rural medicine in Australia