The latest group of medical students to be based alongside local doctors at Mudgee Medical Centre, South Mudgee Surgery and Mudgee District Hospital begin their 12-month journey today.
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As part of their training in the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Wollongong (UOW), medical students Jeremy Szajer, Jennifer O’Regan and Andrew McGregor will be spending the next year in Mudgee.
The year-long clinical placement program is a key component of the University’s medical curriculum, which has been designed with a strong focus on preparing doctors to practise in regional, rural and remote settings.
The University’s Graduate School of Medicine (GSM) was established with a primary aim of helping to address the critical shortage of medical practitioners outside the major cities, and actively recruits students who have rural backgrounds. It is the only medical school in Australia that provides opportunities for all its students to undertake a 12-month clinical placement in a rural or regional setting.
Mudgee is considered a premier training site for UOW medical students and highly sought after each year. Mr McGregor said he is thrilled to have the opportunity to learn medicine and further develop his clinical skills in Mudgee as part of his 12 month placement. In addition Mr Szajer and Ms O’Regan are also looking forward to their placement along with the opportunity to explore the region and get to know the community.
Associate Professor David Garne, who oversees the clinical placements program in his role as the GSM’s Associate Dean, Community, Primary, Remote and Rural, says the best way to encourage young doctors to practise medicine in rural communities after they graduate is to introduce them to life in a country town while they are students.
Professor Garne joined UOW after helping establish the University’s clinical program in Broken Hill where he was working as a doctor with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
“Living and working in a rural environment can be very rewarding personally and professionally, and that’s the message we try to get across to our medical students,” Professor Garne said.
“For a start they will have more opportunities to undertake procedural medicine – obstetrics, anaesthetics, and some surgical procedures…than if they did their clinical training in the city.
“The whole idea is to immerse our students in a regional or rural community for 38 weeks, and help them make their career choices after that. Whether they want to be a GP or to specialise, hopefully they will have an underlying desire to work in a regional or rural setting.”
Professor Garne said UOW operated 10 regional hubs for its medical students, whose clinical placements start mid-way through their third year of training and continues until mid-way through their fourth year.
