Four new medical students from the University of Wollongong have taken up residence in Mudgee.
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Now in the third week of their 12 month stay, students Hugh Stump, Emily Sideris, Hannah Watson, and Louise Thomas recently joined the clinical placement program at Mudgee as part of a key component of the University’s medical curriculum. The program has been designed by the University of Wollongong to have a strong focus on preparing doctors to practice in regional, rural, and remote areas.
Mudgee is considered a premier training site for UOW medical students and is highly sought after each year.
2015 marks the seventh year of the relationship between the Mudgee Medical Centre and the University of Wollongong.
Mr Stump said that the Mudgee program was the first choice for the four of them, and they had already completed their first three weeks of trailing doctors and seeing patients at the Mudgee Medical Centre.
“We’re here for 12 months getting involved with the local community and meeting new faces,” Mr Stump said.
“We’ll return to university for six months before we graduate and figure out what we want to do next.
“Some of us will probably head overseas, while some of us will remain in Australia in either the city or a rural area,” he said.
Emily Sideris said everyone she had seen so far was really friendly and didn’t seem to mind her being in the room and helping their doctor with the diagnosis.
“Everyone’s been very welcoming and we’ve enjoyed it so far,” she said.
The University’s Graduate School of Medicine 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.
“It’s a lot more hands on,” Miss Sideris said. “We get to see patients beforehand and then listen in and assist when the doctor comes in. We get to learn a lot more than if we were just standing in a corner of the room, watching.”
As well as working at the medical centre, the medical students will be able to assist in the emergency department of the Mudgee Hospital.
The University of Wollongong operates 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.
