28 August 2006
Second-year medical students from Monash University are seizing the opportunity to explore the challenges of rural medicine during a two-week placement with the Bendigo Regional Clinical School.
About 70 students have converged on the school's regional training sites at Bendigo, Kyneton, Echuca, Swan Hill and Horsham, where they are gaining hands-on experience of the local health systems and insights into the communities that depend on them.
The students will spend time in local doctors' surgeries, hospital wards and pharmacies to build on the experiences gained during their first year rural placements. They will also work with local ambulance officers, and learn about Indigenous health issues and occupational health and safety.
Professor Peter Disler, Director of the Bendigo Regional Clinical School, said it was important to expose students to the rewards of rural medicine during their early training years. "This immersion in the rural role can play a vital role in influencing the career choices of medicine students," he said.
Professor Disler also praised the quality of teaching during the rural placements and the positive learning environment the students experience.
As well as their professional training, the students also get a taste of country life through participation in local community events that help broaden their understanding of the life in a country community," he said.
Monash University and the University of Melbourne have launched the Extended Rural Cohort stream, a joint initiative in central and northern Victoria that focuses on rural and regional practice.
It follows the Federal Government's recent allocation of an extra 60 medical training places, to be shared equally between Monash and Melbourne, as part of the Northern Victoria Regional Medical Education Network.
To explain the Extended Rural Cohort stream, the two universities are holding joint information sessions with the first to be held in Bendigo from 7pm to 8pm on Monday 4 September at Monash University's Bendigo Regional Clinical School at 26-28 Mercy Street, Bendigo.
For further information contact Ms Robyn Anns, Media Communications, on +61 3 9905 9317 or 0417 568 781.
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