National recognition for Monash medical course

Monash University's doctor training has been further boosted by the accreditation of its Gippsland graduate entry MBBS course by the Australian Medical Council (AMC).

This adds to Monash's existing strengths in delivering quality medical education to undergraduate students in metropolitan and rural settings from its Clayton and Malaysian campuses.

The new Gippsland program provides an opportunity for graduates of any undergraduate degree to train within a specific rural and regional setting, acquiring knowledge and skills to prepare them for a diverse range of practice settings.

Professor Steve Wesselingh, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, said AMC accreditation of the Gippsland program added to the diverse suite of medical training that Monash offers.

"Combined with our programs in rural and metropolitan Victoria and Malaysia, we are now ideally placed to train graduates for a broad range of specific community needs," Professor Wesselingh said.

"Monash graduates will be able to contribute significantly to solving medical workforce shortages in rural and regional Australia, as well as Malaysia. "

After a course is accredited, the AMC can assure medical registration boards that a medical school's educational program satisfies national guidelines for medical education.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins said the MBBS program on the Churchill campus adds significant academic strength to the campus and emphasises the University's commitment to producing high quality graduates suited for employment in regional and rural Australia.

The Monash MBBS degree, offered at the Clayton, Malaysia and Gippsland campuses, is now accredited until 2013, and will provide the potential for diverse local and international training of its students.

For further information, please contact Steve Pogonowski, Media Communications, on +61 3 9905 1253.

Graduate-entry course at Gippsland campus

This Monash Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree, commencing at the Gippsland campus in 2008, is a four-year graduate-entry medical course.

For more information, visit the Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences faculty website.