Strengthening Trans-Tasman Connections in GP Supervision
GPSA at the 2025 NZ Medical Educator PD Day and RNZCGP Annual Conference
In late July, GPSA participated in the 2025 New Zealand GP Medical Educators Professional
Development Day and the RNZCGP Annual Conference, held in Christchurch from 24–26 July.
New Zealand GP Medical Educators PD Day
The annual professional development meeting for NZ GP medical educators was held alongside the
RNZCGP conference. I facilitated a small group session on early identification of the registrar at risk -
an important conversation that covered screening tools and preventative strategies currently used in
Australian general practice training, with potential for adaptation in the New Zealand context. These
included the GPSA IMG Registrar Survey, the Physicians’ Reaction to Uncertainty (PRU) scale, and the
informal ‘frazzled rooster’ scale.
Primary preventive strategies were also discussed, including practice-based orientation programs,
pre-commencement educational modules, supervision planning tools, and the widely used ‘call for
help’ list. There was strong interest in GPSA’s suite of resources and strategies, and a shared
enthusiasm for future collaboration.
RNZCGP Annual Conference Highlights
The two-day conference brought together a rich mix of medico-political, cultural, clinical, research,
and educational content. Keynote speakers included Olympic rower Emma Twigg, who spoke
powerfully about resilience and learning from failure, and Professor Bev Lawton, 2025 New
Zealander of the Year, who urged the profession to view cervical cancer as an avoidable adverse
event rather than an unfortunate diagnosis.
Dr Kerryn Lum, Chief Censor of the RNZCGP, delivered a compelling session on the risks of “failing to
fail” and its consequences for both learners and the broader system (1). Numerous sessions focused
on cultural competence and learner experiences, with valuable contributions from medical students
and registrars.
GPSA Presentations
GPSA had all three of its submitted abstracts accepted. These included:
- A well-attended workshop on teaching rational test ordering, delivered to an audience of
GPs, GP registrars, and nurse practitioners - Two oral presentations based on findings from GPSA’s 2025 Annual Survey:
- Supervision along the general practice training pipeline in Australia: needs, benefits,
and best practice - Formal in-practice teaching of GP registrars: methods and confidence of Australian
GP supervisors
- Supervision along the general practice training pipeline in Australia: needs, benefits,
These sessions provided a great platform to showcase GPSA’s work and build on the strong trans-
Tasman connection between medical educators. We look forward to continuing this exchange of
ideas and resources to strengthen GP supervision across both countries.
- Daly M, Lucas G, Wilkinson TJ. Learning, judgement and workforce tensions impact failure to
fail in a medical postgraduate setting: A supervisor perspective. Med Teach. 2022
Oct;44(10):1092-1099. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2022.2058385. Epub 2022 Apr 18. PMID:
35430929.