Improving the supervision of IMGs - a GPSA research project by you, for you

Throughout 2025, GPSA is leading a collaborative project to develop a framework to support IMGs in rural GP pathways. Funded through an RACGP Education Research Grant, this project has attracted nearly 200 respondents and is being overseen by a Project Advisory Group made up of many experienced GP stakeholders - most of whom are themselves international medical graduates. The focus of our research team is on recognising and building on the strengths of the IMG cohorts of registrars and supervisors who play such a critical role in rural general practice.

Our framework is being progressively drafted as we interview and conduct focus groups with IMG registrars on different pathways, along with supervisors of IMGs, training teams and stakeholders. This engagement with GPSA and GPRA members is providing excellent insights about strategies that will support the comfort, confidence, competence, belonging and bonding of IMGs as they migrate, right through to becoming a specialist rural GP. These strategies will be continually shaped and refined through to the end of the year until a final framework is confirmed by the Project Advisory Group.

So far, the key learning is that solutions can be drawn from a vast amount of local intelligence. However, this project is the first to cross all the pathways and knowledge custodians, to map all the IMG-focused solutions and strategies in one place. Our framework will provide a starting point for stimulating more progress by the GP sector around tools, resources and coordinated action to support IMGs involved in GP training.

For more information, please contact A/Prof Belinda O'Sullivan (Associate Researcher, GPSA): [email protected].