Bendigo Community Health Services and Bendigo Primary Care have welcomed four new registrars.

Bendigo Community Health Services and Bendigo Primary Care welcomed four new registrars - Sarah Case, Michael Barclay and Jennifer Chivinge and Steve Bovalino - to their clinics this weeks with the hopes they will stay on once their training is complete.

The two organisations also welcomed the news that recently fellowed doctor Mohammed Jawad wold stay on in Bendigo and continue working with BCHS and Bendigo Primary Care.

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BCHS executive leader of resources and enterprise development Callum Wright said communities in Bendigo were already feeling the shortage of doctors.

"You ask anyone about how hard it is to get in to see their GP, it's not uncommon to have a two week wait," he said. "It's a sign of the shortage of GPs in the community.

"Among the registrars in Bendigo Primary Care or Bendigo Community Health Services, we have seen a reduction of six or seven registrars in the last 12 months. That's trainee doctors coming through the system who would usually be seeing patients.

"The group we have today are fantastic. Our job as a community is to make them feel welcome and hope they choose to stay when they gain their fellowship and practices as GPs. We would like to keep these guys for 20 or 30 years but we have to get around them and make it an exciting place to live and work."

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Michael Barclay grew up in Castlemaine and recently finished his medical degree, choosing to specialise as a GP. He said his decision to choose Bendigo came partly from a local knowledge of doctor shortages.

"I have more experience with GPs than any other specialty. It's an area I have focused on and appreciated," Dr Barclay said.

Dr Barclay said he felt the combination of training opportunities and welcoming communities were important aspects in retaining newly-trained doctors.

"Part of it is vocational, so having opportunities to train regionally," he said "General practice is best suited to that because so much variety and places you can practice - from the very remote, to large regional centres.

"Ultimately what keeps people is the community and being involved in local activities like sport leagues or music. Finding ways involve yourself in the community - that is hard to do in Melbourne."

Dr Jawad worked in Adelaide for four years before coming to Bendigo for training. He said the training and support he received in Bendigo made him and his family want to stay.

"Regional Victoria's training is much better than South Australia's, there is much more support," he said. "If you have good training, you transition in better a position after you fellowship.

"For junior doctors or people who don't come from a GP background, they need that support. If you don't feel supported, you won't like the profession. There are always complex things (to deal with) and if don't have enough support to guide you through those things or at least show you where can go or get resources, it would be difficult."

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Mr Wright said having opportunities for the families of doctors would help keep the GPs in the region.

"It is about having access schools and opportunities for families," he said. "A lot (of doctors) have partners or significant others looking for work but there is also the lifestyle of living and working in regional Victoria.

"The key piece for us is having to showcase that because these guys spend most days in clinic rooms seeing patients. We need to encourage them to get out and participate in the community and see what great place it is."

Dr Jawad said choosing to stay in Bendigo was due to the variety of work he could do at Bendigo Primary Care but it was also what was best for his family.

"The first 12 months is a very steep learning curve... but by end of it, I was settled and happy," he said. "I went to primary care because of the variety of practices you had to do. You see different populations, different presentations.

"I (also) have a wife who is a pharmacist in Bendigo and I have two kids. There are good schools here, it is a good town and a good working environment. That's what you want. They offer everything here and we are happy to stay."

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