The new Medical Schools Outcomes Database report shows a rising interest in rural and remote general practice.
The Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand has released its annual Medical Schools Outcomes Database (MSOD) report, with great results for rural health.
Over 34,000 students participated in the report, which will guide policy for the coming year of medical education.
The report revealed a highly welcome trend of students wanting to work in rural generalism.
Practicing outside a major metropolitan area was the preference for around one in three students, who said they were aiming to work in a rural or remote location.
Training placements in said rural and remote areas were cited as a major factor for the increase in preference, with students who undertook rural placement for more than one year being up to 10 times more likely to indicate a preference for working in the bush.
Those with placements between six and 12 months or up to six months also displayed heightened levels of interest.
Student who had joined rural health clubs in university showed higher rates of rural preference, which the report attributed to the value of rural exposure within peer networks.
Workforce shortages have become a repetitive issue within rural health, and the increase in eagerness to work rurally was welcomed by RACGP rural chair Professor Michael Wright.
“It’s good to see that rural intent is on the rise and that some of the universities are doing very well in terms of stimulating more and more doctors medical students to seek a career in a rural area,” he told The Medical Republic.
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“It was showing the evidence behind what we know, which is that universities that have good rural programs that give medical students good amounts of time in rural areas as part of their training are more likely to select rural.
“That supports the government efforts to look at increasing Commonwealth-supported medical student places, but only in the universities that are showing rural outcomes and are actually giving rural output.”
While there was a rise in students interested in rural practice, the report also showed a drop in medical students wanting to pursue general practice overall.
Professor Wright said many students explored other career paths before coming to rural generalism.
“I do think that the best thing about the data is showing that universities that do have a focus on rural placements and rural exposure during their training do get the output, but they do actually generate returns,” Professor Wright told TMR.
“This report does give the government good guidance that it should focus new investment in universities and new medical student placements in areas and with universities that do show good outcomes in terms of those rural placements.”
