AGPAL General Practice Surveyors – Applications now open!

AGPAL Surveyors are in the unique position of supporting their peers with the continuous process of quality improvement. As an independent party, you support practices to identify gaps in service standards, and explore the opportunities for improvement. As a specialist in professional service standards and quality, your role is to support organisations in turning improvement opportunities into sustainable change. As a result, you are acknowledged by your peers as an expert in developing quality-focused practices.

Our clients are diverse, ranging from small solo general practices in rural areas to high performing corporate entities in cities around Australia. Our surveyors work in a wide range of environments, from inner-city Sydney, to the Adelaide Hills, remote Meekatharra, and across the Bass Strait to Launceston and surrounds.

The initial training you receive as an AGPAL Surveyor covers the full scope of the RACGP Standards, as well as modules covering quality report writing and use of our proprietary accreditation software, AccreditationPro. As you broaden your experience, we provide annual training to support your growing skill set, and professional networking opportunities to exchange knowledge among your peers.

AGPAL GP Surveyors and Co-Surveyors work together, forming a team of two general practice professionals for each survey visit.

While GP surveyors support practices with relevant clinical improvements, co-surveyors support the practices with facets of governance and operational requirements. AGPAL co-surveyors will have complementary skills in general practice and are one of the following: experienced practice managers, practice nurses, allied health professionals working in general practice, or Aboriginal healthcare workers who work in general practice.

Each survey team has an AGPAL Survey Coordinator to ensure that the on-site accreditation surveys are arranged to meet the mutual needs of all parties. The survey coordinator is often a role undertaken by a co-surveyor; however, GP surveyors are also welcome to apply for the role of survey coordinator.

The three main phases of a surveyor’s work are the pre-survey reading, the on-site survey, and the post-survey reporting.

1. Pre-survey reading includes the client’s self-assessment of their practice against the RACGP Standards and relevant legislation.
2. During the onsite survey, Surveyors complete the respective observations and interview activities so as to gather evidence of the practice’s level of compliance against the Standards. As required, the surveying team can additional identify how to best support the particular practice with their continuous quality improvement journey by making recommendations to close potential gaps in service or assisting in the identification of additional opportunities. Such input is intended to drive continuous improvement in areas that are relevant and important to the practice thus resulting in the continuous improvement in safety and quality of the primary health sector.
3. Afterwards, surveyors report their survey findings and recommendations to AGPAL. From here they are quality checked to ensure objectivity and validity of findings and are then used as the principle source of evidence by our Decision Makers to determine if accreditation is to be awarded or corrective actions are required.

The entire survey process is facilitated by AGPAL’s proprietary software, AccreditationPro. From the time a client submits their self-assessment to the time AGPAL issues our decision and awards accreditation, AccreditationPro is our supporting tool.

By utilising AccreditationPro, all surveyors can be certain that all facets of the Standards have been assessed in depth and consistently. As a result, our surveyors are confident that their recommendations for amendments or identified opportunities for ongoing development are specific and relevant to their peers; cementing their status as an expert in the field.

An AGPAL GP Surveyor fulfils all the following criteria:

• Is vocationally registered under the Health Insurance (Vocational Registration of General Practitioners) Regulations 1989 (Cth)
• Hold Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) or Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)
• Satisfy their college’s requirements for their continuing professional development program
• Have at least five years full-time, or equivalent part-time, experience as a vocationally registered general practitioner
  • Be working an average of at least two sessions a week in face-to-face patient contact in an accredited general practice over the last two years, OR
  • Have worked an average of at least two sessions a week in face-to-face patient contact in an accredited general practice within the last two years
• Possess and maintain a current Working with Children and Working with Vulnerable Persons Checks as required by state or territory departments/regulators in states where surveyor services are provided
• Be in possession of a Positive Notice (satisfactory completion of National Police Check) that has been issued within the last three years
• Complete ongoing surveyor training as required by the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme to maintain their competence and knowledge of the Standards, and
• Must, each year, undertake a minimum of five surveys and complete at least one mandatory training session.

An AGPAL Co-Surveyor fulfils all the following criteria:

• Can be an appropriately qualified, nurse, practice manager, allied health professional, or Aboriginal health worker or health practitioner
• Must have at least five years full-time equivalent experience
  • Must be working an average of at least 16 hours a week in an accredited general practice, and have done so over the last two years, OR
  • Have worked an average of at least 16 hours a week in an accredited general practice within the last two years
• Possess and maintain a current Working with Children and Working with Vulnerable Persons Checks as required by state or territory departments/regulators in states where surveyor services are provided
• Be in possession of a Positive Notice (satisfactory completion of National Police Check) that has been issued within the last three years
• Complete ongoing surveyor training as required by the Scheme to maintain their competence and knowledge of the Standards, and
• Must each year undertake a minimum of five surveys and complete at least one mandatory training session.