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New incentives to help address rural doctor shortage

Friday, 12 February 2010

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide will jointly launch an ambitious student recruitment program today to address the acute shortage of doctors in rural and remote areas of South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥.

A range of incentives developed by the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ in conjunction with the , the and the will ensure that from 2011 the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s Medical School will each year enrol up to 25 students with a rural background.

An intensive marketing campaign will be rolled out over the coming weeks to encourage rural students to consider medicine as a career option and increase their chances of selection into university.

School leavers from across ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ who have lived for five years or more in a rural location will be encouraged to study Medicine at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide under a new pathway.

From next year, prospective medical students who fall into this category will increase their chances of selection by competing only against other rural students for a place in the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s program, instead of the total application pool which numbers around 2000 each year.

"There is strong evidence that shows students who have spent time living and studying in the country or a regional area are twice as likely to practise in a rural location when they graduate," says the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide, .

Professor Beilby says the campaign will help overcome potential barriers for rural students, including financial costs and relocation.

The Spencer Gulf Rural Health School - a joint venture between the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide and - has a range of measures in place to boost rural medical student numbers. These include:

• rural high school visits and the distribution of posters in these areas to promote Medicine as a career option;
  
• the provision of accurate and timely information about applying for and studying Medicine;
  
• promoting the which gives rural students a 6-point aggregate to their TER;
  
• mandatory short-term placements in rural areas for all medical undergraduates in the course of their degree;
  
• promotion of the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency workshops to support rural students applying for Medicine.

Up to 25 Commonwealth-supported places will be offered by the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's Medical School each year to students with a rural background.

The , Federal Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health & Regional Services Delivery, will officially launch the 2011 Rural Background Entry Pathway into the MBBS Program at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide at 1.30pm.

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