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The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) welcomes the Australian Government's announcement of an additional 50 Commonwealth-supported university medical places, saying the investment is an important step towards strengthening Australia's future medical workforce.
However, ACRRM says increasing the number of medical students must be accompanied by targeted measures that encourage more future doctors to choose careers in rural, remote and First Nations communities.
ACRRM President Dr Rod Martin says growing the medical workforce requires investment across the entire rural training pipeline.
"Every additional medical student represents an opportunity to strengthen Australia's health workforce, and we welcome the Government's continued investment in training more doctors," Dr Martin says.
"But simply increasing university places is not enough.
“If we want more doctors in rural and remote communities, we need to ensure students have meaningful rural training experiences, access to high-quality Rural Generalist pathways and the support they need to build their careers where they are needed most.
"We know that high-quality rural placements are one of the strongest predictors of where a doctor will eventually choose to practise.
"Recent reforms extending Commonwealth Prac Payments to allied health students recognise that the cost of undertaking rural placements can be a significant barrier.
“Medical students should also be included.
"No student should have to turn down a rural placement because they can't afford the travel, accommodation or time away from paid work.
"If we are serious about growing the rural medical workforce, we need to remove those barriers and ensure medical students have every opportunity to experience the rewards of living, learning and working in rural, remote and First Nations communities."
Dr Martin says Rural Generalists play a critical role in delivering comprehensive healthcare across primary care, hospital services, community settings and retrieval services, making them essential to the sustainability of rural and remote health services.
"Rural communities deserve the same access to high-quality healthcare as every other Australian," he says.
"This announcement presents an opportunity to build a workforce that is not only larger, but better distributed.
"Success will ultimately be measured by whether more Australians in rural, remote and First Nations communities can access the care they need, close to home.
"ACRRM looks forward to working with the Australian Government and universities to ensure these additional places translate into more doctors choosing Rural Generalist careers and more communities gaining access to the healthcare they deserve."
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The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) welcomes the Australian Government's announcement of an additional 50 Commonwealth-supported university medical places, saying the investment is an important step towards strengthening Australia's future medical workforce.
However, ACRRM says increasing the number of medical students must be accompanied by targeted measures that encourage more future doctors to choose careers in rural, remote and First Nations communities.
ACRRM President Dr Rod Martin says growing the medical workforce requires investment across the entire rural training pipeline.
"Every additional medical student represents an opportunity to strengthen Australia's health workforce, and we welcome the Government's continued investment in training more doctors," Dr Martin says.
"But simply increasing university places is not enough.
“If we want more doctors in rural and remote communities, we need to ensure students have meaningful rural training experiences, access to high-quality Rural Generalist pathways and the support they need to build their careers where they are needed most.
"We know that high-quality rural placements are one of the strongest predictors of where a doctor will eventually choose to practise.
"Recent reforms extending Commonwealth Prac Payments to allied health students recognise that the cost of undertaking rural placements can be a significant barrier.
“Medical students should also be included.
"No student should have to turn down a rural placement because they can't afford the travel, accommodation or time away from paid work.
"If we are serious about growing the rural medical workforce, we need to remove those barriers and ensure medical students have every opportunity to experience the rewards of living, learning and working in rural, remote and First Nations communities."
Dr Martin says Rural Generalists play a critical role in delivering comprehensive healthcare across primary care, hospital services, community settings and retrieval services, making them essential to the sustainability of rural and remote health services.
"Rural communities deserve the same access to high-quality healthcare as every other Australian," he says.
"This announcement presents an opportunity to build a workforce that is not only larger, but better distributed.
"Success will ultimately be measured by whether more Australians in rural, remote and First Nations communities can access the care they need, close to home.
"ACRRM looks forward to working with the Australian Government and universities to ensure these additional places translate into more doctors choosing Rural Generalist careers and more communities gaining access to the healthcare they deserve."