The Registrars' Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) project: educational and research aspects of documenting general practice trainees' clinical experience

Background: General practice training in Australia is based on an apprenticeship-like model where most of the learning and training occurs in the practice rather than the classroom. However, there is little systematic knowledge of registrars' clinical consultation experiences. Objective: The aim of this article is to describe the Registrars' Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) project, an ongoing cohort study of registrars in five of Australia's 17 regional training providers (RTPs), and the educational and research aims and objectives of the project. Discussion: In the ReCEnT project, registrar and practice demographics are documented. Once in each of their three general practice terms, registrars then record the patient, consultation and educational aspects of 60 consecutive office-based consultations. From these data, detailed individual feedback reports are produced and are used to prompt registrar reflection on their practice and training program. The collected data are also used for research into registrars' training and practice and as a resource for registrar research training