University of Queensland medical students are lining up to do their clinical training in regional areas.
UQ’s School of Medicine has increased the number of available places in Rural Clinical Teaching Sites by 20 percent to help meet the demand.
UQ’s medical students undertake full-year clinical training in their third year and shorter clinical rotations during their fourth and final year of the MBBS program. Next year more than 100 full-time students will undertake their third-year or fourth-year clinical training in a regional hospital at Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Hervey Bay-Maryborough.
Students recently nominated preferred sites for their third year of medical training and all attracted more interest than there were training places available. Sites in Toowoomba and Hervey Bay-Maryborough were already training students to their capacity, but places were increased in Rockhampton and Bundaberg to accommodate the extra demand. Rockhampton will receive 20 third year and 12 fourth year students, Bundaberg - 15 third years, Toowoomba - 30 third year and 15 fourth year students and Hervey Bay-Maryborough 10 third year students.
Head of the School of Medicine Professor Ken Donald said part of the reason for the increased popularity was the “big vote of confidence” students had given all four teaching sites.
“The major factors that appear responsible for the rapidly increasing popularity of these federally funded rural teaching sites for third or fourth year training, include the high clinical teacher/student ratios, local community enthusiasm, strong collegiality amongst students at all locations, availability of well located quality accommodation with fast internet access and good teaching, “ Professor Donald said.
“All sites have strong educational links with both public and private hospitals and clinicians, which has enabled students to receive a good medical education in all regional and rural locations throughout the year, despite the recent difficulties within Queensland Health.
“It is now also known that students who train within the Rural Clinical Schools perform as well as their non-rural counterparts, both clinically and in examinations – and in some cases better,” he said.
Professor Donald also commented that the success of the rural teaching programme was a tribute to the efforts of the whole community at each site in welcoming the students into their region. Rural Clinical Divisions are an initiative of the School of Medicine, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA). The initiative aims to produce long-term benefits that include increased recruitment of GPs and specialists to regional, rural and remote areas.
For more information, please contact Faculty Communications Officer Marlene McKendry at (07) 33464713 or 0401 996 847.
