Bond University award for ‘A sustainable future in primary care research'

We congratulate Dr Belinda O'Sullivan, longstanding research collaborator with GPSA and Director of Research at Monash University School of Rural Health, who received the Bond University award for ‘A sustainable future in primary care’ for her abstract “Mandated or motivated? Why IMGs pursue rural GP careers” at the recent AAAPC conference in Geelong, Victoria. The work will be submitted for publication this year. You can read the abstract below.

 

 

 

IMGs on moratoriums play a major part in Australia’s rural medical workforce capacity. However, very little is understood about their motivations for rural careers, around moratoriums. We aimed to explore why International Medical Graduates (IMGs) pursue rural GP careers.

 

 

Through invitations across the rural GP sector, we received 185 expressions of interest and purposefully sampled 41 diverse respondents with system roles, from training teams, supervisors of IMGs and IMG registrars for in-depth interviews and focus groups between February and August 2025. Overall, IMGs constituted 70% of participants, covering different locations and GP pathways.

 

 

We identified many IMGs facing the imperative of moving rurally to work in general practice due to moratoriums. However, there are groups who are already committed to being a GP or Australian GP as part of their migration plan. Many are attracted to the wider scope and career choices in Australia’s rural general practice. However, if they receive limited support from practices and work in practices that do not have a learning culture, this is demotivating. IMGs are not familiar with rural communities but if welcomed and introduced to others, they can connect very well and may grow to love rural practice and intend to stay in rural practices beyond moratorium periods. IMGs are motivated about the chance to practise the continuity of holistic healthcare in Australian general practice; some also hope to apply advanced specialised skills, including using their previous qualifications and experience. Many are grateful to get general practice jobs (for the medical identity) and generate income based on the cost of living in Australia.

 

 

With more attention to what motivates IMGs to work in rural general practice, there can be a more positive attitude to IMGs within our rural GP workforce and collaborative action to draw on their interests and develop their skills in areas that rural communities need.