• Simon Morgan, Allison Thomson, Peter O'Mara, Amanda Tapley, Kim Henderson, Mieke van Driel, John Scott, Neil Spike, Lawrie McArthur, and Parker Magin.
• MBBS, MPH, FRACGP, General Practitioner and Medical Educator, General Practice Training - Valley to Coast, Newcastle, NSW.
• Aust Fam Physician. 2016 Sep 1; 45 (9): 677682677-82.

BackgroundIdentification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status in healthcare settings is essential for the delivery of culturally appropriate care. Under-identification is common and practitioner confidence is a known barrier.ObjectiveThe objective of this research was to document the self-reported confidence of general practice registrars in identifying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status of their patients, and associations of this confidence.MethodsThis research used cross-sectional analysis of survey and patient encounter data of general practice registrars training across five Australian states.ResultsOf the 698 registrars (97.5% response rate) who participated in the study, 74.5% had a high level of confidence in identifying a patient's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status. Older and more senior registrars had significantly greater confidence. There was also a significant association with the registrars' training provider.DiscussionMore than a quarter of registrars reported low confidence for this basic consultation skill. Our findings will inform general prac-tice vocational training and continuing professional development, and reinforce the importance of a comprehensive, system-wide approach to the identification of patients' Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status.

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