Shepparton medical students to address rural doctor shortage
The first ever cohort of students to undertake the entire Doctor of Medicine (Rural Pathway) in a rural setting will begin studying at the University of Melbourne’s Shepparton Campus today.
The degree is offered as part of a collaboration between the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University to provide regional students an end-to-end rural medical pathway and retain the graduates in the regions. Before, students completed their first year of study in Melbourne.
The students will be required to work for at least three years in a recognised rural area within 18 years of graduating. They have all lived for at least five years consecutively or 10 years cumulatively in a rural location.
Head of the Department of Rural Health at the University of Melbourne Professor Julian Wright said he is keen to see the career impact the course will have on the new students.
"This is a really important initiative that will benefit both the students and the rural communities they will one day practice in. I’m looking forward to watching these students develop into terrific medical practitioners," Professor Wright said.
He says the rural training will help address Victoria’s dire shortage of doctors in regional areas.
"At the moment, we don’t have near enough medical graduates opting to start their careers outside of Melbourne. We hope this course will improve medical services and long-term health outcomes for people living in regional, rural, and remote communities," Professor Wright said.
Of the 30 students, 13 have completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical) degree at La Trobe's Bendigo or Albury/Wodonga campuses and 17 have completed an undergraduate degree at another university.
Among them are Tim Duff from Woodend, who completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at La Trobe University in Bendigo, and Kiera Howell from Benalla, who attended Goulburn Valley Grammar School in Shepparton before studying a double Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Psychological Science degree at Deakin University in Burwood.
The students will also have the opportunity to interact with new technology recently implemented in a curriculum redesign.
The completion of a $6.5 million upgrade to the University of Melbourne Shepparton campus is on the horizon, including new student accommodation and expanded teaching spaces.