Library resource guides: Rural generalist anaesthesia (RGA) training: Starting out

Guide index

Program overview

Overview of the ANZCA RGA training program.

Rural Generalist Anaesthesia training program
Information regarding the 12-month training program available to rural generalist registrars and fellows seeking formal training and certification in anaesthesia. Including information on structure and content, exams, training sites, grandparenting and CPD, plus a FAQ.

Key texts

Recommended resources are listed below.

Rural Generalist Anaesthesia Handbook for Training by Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists The aim of the Diploma of Rural Generalist Anaesthesia (DipRGA) training program is to produce competent rural generalist anaesthetists (RGAs) who can deliver safe and timely anaesthesia, perioperative care and critical care to rural and remote Australians.
Publication Date: February 2023 v1.1
Rural Generalist Anaesthesia Training Program Curriculum by Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists The curriculum defines the required learning, teaching and assessment of the Diploma training program.
Publication Date: October 2022
The First Year: What You Should Know After a Year of Anaesthesia Training (Revised Edition) by Rathie, Lachlan
Call Number: >> REQUEST PRINT LOAN <<
Publication Date: 17 February 2023
Recommended
This book is not an exam primer nor is it a comprehensive textbook of anaesthesia. This is the book you give to the trainee specialist who is about to embark on their anaesthesia training. It contains the information they need to formulate and develop a safe practice of anaesthesia. This book lucidly describes and justifies the core knowledge, behaviours and practical skills that a junior trainee would be expected to possess after a year of anaesthesia. Written specifically for Australasian specialist anaesthetic trainees and those doing the Rural Generalist Anaesthesia (RGA) training course, this book fills the gaping hole in the existing anaesthetic literature. The curriculum for the Introductory Training period and the RGA is comprehensively addressed in this book.

2023 edition, updated to address the new RGA curriculum and structure.

Gilchrist PT, Beaton NSM, Atkin JN, Roberts LJ. The new Diploma of Rural Generalist Anaesthesia: Supporting Australian rural and remote communities. Anaesth Intensive Care. Epub November 25, 2023. Keywords: Anaesthesia; curriculum; education; entrustable professional activities; general practice anaesthetist; rural generalist anaesthetist; workplace based assessment.
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Abstract
In 2023, a Diploma of Rural Generalist Anaesthesia (DipRGA) was implemented across Australia. Developed collaboratively by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the 12-month qualification is completed during or following ACRRM or RACGP Rural Generalist Fellowship training. Focused on the needs of rural and remote communities for elective and emergency surgery, maternity care, resuscitative care for medical illness or injury, and stabilisation for retrieval, the DipRGA supports rural generalist anaesthetists working within collaborative teams in geographically isolated settings. The goal is a graduate who can anaesthetise American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class 1, 2 and stable 3 patients for elective surgery, provide obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia, anaesthetise paediatric patients and undertake advanced crisis care within their scope of practice. Crucially, they also recognise both limitations of their skills and local resources available when considering whether to provide care, defer, refer or transfer patients. DipRGA curriculum design commenced by adapting the ANZCA specialist training curriculum with consideration of the training approach of both the ACRRM and the RACGP, particularly the rural and remote context. Curriculum content is addressed in seven entrustable professional activities supported by workplace-based assessments and multisource feedback. Trainees are supervised by rural generalist anaesthetists and specialist anaesthetists, and complete flexible learning activities to accommodate geographical dispersion. Standardised summative assessments include an early test of knowledge and an examination, adapted from the ACRRM structured assessment using multiple patient scenarios.

Rural Generalist Anaesthesia trainee toolkit

Fees, forms, and resources related to the RGA training program.

Training forms
Application forms relevant to trainees and the training program, including:
- Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs)
- Workplace-based assessments forms
- Individual trainee application forms
Information on fees
Information regarding the training and examination fees related to the RGA course.

ANZCA resource guides

Additional resource guides which you may find useful during your course.

ANZCA: Rural SIG Library Guide
This guide provides access to a wide range of resources with a rural focus, including those resources available through the ANZCA library.

Cultural safety

Cultural safety resources that may be beneficial to trainees.

ANZCA: Anaesthesia Training Program: Cultural Safety Resource Guide
The Anaesthesia Training Program resource guide contains a number of cultural safety resources which trainees may find useful.
ANZCA: Indigenous Health Library Guide
This guide has been designed for anaesthetists and specialist pain physicians interested in Indigenous health to locate relevant resources on this topic, including those available through the ANZCA library.

Acronyms

An updated list of common college and medical community acronyms.

Common college and medical community acronyms

Access/request anywhere

Enable access to ANZCA library journal article full-text anywhere on the web coupled with on-screen resource access prompts.

ANZCA: LibKey Nomad++ Library Guide
LibKey Nomad++ allows web users to easily access and read journal articles found anywhere on the web. It also allows for easy requesting of articles where there is no full-text access, and provides on screen messaging where access is available through a different site.

Learn@ANZCA

Learn@ANZCA (formerly Networks) is the college's learning management system. The system contains numerous courses and resources which will be of interest to trainees.

Use the links below to access additional support resources contained on the Learn @ANZCA platform.

Note: Some resources located in Learn@ANZCA require that you first register before accessing.

Rural generalist anaesthesia
Program Description: The focus of the MCQ examination is on the learning and assessment of safety in anaesthesia practice and consists of 50 questions randomly selected from an MCQ bank.

Trainees will have the opportunity to work through questions related to the learning outcomes and then apply and pay for the MCQ examination when they feel ready to do so.

Learning outcomes that will be assessed by the MCQ examination are located within the clinical fundamentals.

Trainees must successfully complete the examination within the first 26 weeks FTE of the training program.

Training e-Portfolio

The online portfolio system designed to record training experiences by and for trainees.

RGA Training ePortfolio
The RGA Training ePortfolio is an online ePortfolio designed to record training experiences and requirements for RGA trainees.

Courses

Recommended courses for new trainees. Additional courses can be found on the Other resources tab.

ABCs of Anaesthesia: Boot Camp Series
The ABCs of Anaesthesia Boot Camp has grown into a series of interactive lectures covering all the important concepts, frameworks and knowledge you need to know in your first 12 months of anaesthesia.