What to expect from yourself and your GP supervisor

By Dr Sama Balasubramanian

What to expect from your clinic

An adequate setup and orientation

This includes:

  • A room with equipment (variable, depending on the nature of the clinic)
  • Resources, these may also be provided by your college
  • Orientation checklist (see GPSA’s orientation checklist for an example of what to expect)
  • Practice processes
  • Medicolegal dimensions.


Payslips

Ensure your payslips are provided and check them to make sure they are accurate.

“Payslips have to be given to an employee within 1 working day of payday, even if an employee is on leave” – Fair Work.

Your leave balances do not need to be on the payslip, however, you should be allowed to access this information at any point.


Patient billings

Remember, anything billed to your provider number is your responsibility. The practice has a legal responsibility to provide you with your patient billings. Practice software can demonstrate these billings in real-time. Ensure that you are on top of this early!

What to expect from your GP supervisor

Three key things to expect from your GP supervisor are:

  • Accessibility
  • Protected teaching time (one-on-one)
  • Pastoral care and support.


What to expect from yourself

Creating a good training and employment environment is a two-way street. Remember:

  • Open and honest communication
  • Come with a willingness to learn
  • Learn what works for you
  • Develop a learning plan early on
  • Work on your conflict resolution.


A note on conflict resolution: 

Ensure that each disagreement opens an opportunity to negotiate and communicate. When in doubt, utilise your advocates (for example, GPRA, RLO, college). Your advocates are here to guide and support you. Most conflicts can be resolved if both parties act in good faith and communicate openly and honestly. Read more on what to do if you run into problems.

Fairwork Australia has an online learning module on having difficult conversations, or you can download: An employee’s guide to difficult conversations in the workplace (pdf).

Remember: Early conversations = Early solutions.

These tips were taken from GPRA’s “How to Thrive in GP training” webinar
with Dr Melanie Smith and Dr Sama Balasubramanian.

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