Being a doctor is all about giving back. Giving back to people and communities. That contribution to communities is especially important in rural and regional areas of Australia. These areas are often under supplied by medical services. Which means we need more doctors who understand the unique challenges and rewards of regional life. Which in turn means more opportunities for regional people to serve their communities as doctors. So if you’re wondering where to study medicine, here are three reasons to choose the regions.
It’s where you get the most experience
Firstly, regional healthcare is dynamic healthcare. It has to be. In the big cities, with lots of people – and healthcare professionals – all crowded tightly into the one place, there is often pressure to find your niche.
Which is great, if you want to specialise. But when it comes to getting exposure (in a good way) to a wide range of medical conditions, the regions can’t be beaten.
As a rural practitioner, you may well be the only doctor that your patients have access to. So that means you need to deal with whoever – and whatever – walks through the door. You’ll get to diagnose and treat a wide range of symptoms, diseases and illnesses – some of which would tend to be passed straight onto specialists in an urban area. Out in the regions, you’re the woman or man who has the answers, and you’re likely to get the opportunity to perform a greater number of procedures than your city counterparts.
Speaking of community…
Where to study medicine – where you become a part of the community
Being a doctor in a rural or regional area plugs you into a network in two important ways. First, you become part of a residential community. And second, you plug into a medical service that stretches across disciplines.
In the regions, medical services have to work together. Integrated services mean that people get the care they need in the most efficient way – for them and the medical industry.
So when you work as a doctor in the regions (and also when you are studying to become one), you’ll be part of a wide network. Nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy… everything that helps ensure regional people get the care they need.
When you’re part of a community like that, you learn from each other, support each other, and get to know each other.
The same goes for the patients you’ll see as a regional doctor.
The lifestyle in regional areas is more, well, relaxed. It’s why you’ll be able to have a great work-life balance, but that approach to life will also extend to your surgery. Chances are, you’ll be able to take extended time to examine and treat your patients, to hear their concerns and also discuss local issues.
That means you’ll get to know your patients as people who live, work, and play in your community. This type of connection means your patients are more likely to be comfortable seeing you as a fully fledged member of the community, not just someone they visit when they don’t feel well. You’ll be working as a doctor in the regions, yes, but it will really feel like home.
Where to study medicine – where investment is happening
The Federal Government is committed to expanding medicine education in regional Australia. That’s good news for everyone. More regional medical students means more regional medical services means that, consequently, more regional people can get treatment closer to home.
And Charles Sturt University is part of that expansion. We’ve teamed up with Western Sydney University to establish a medical school network across the Murray Darling Basin as part of the federal government’s drive to establish and financially support a Joint Program in Medicine (JPM).
And we have a dedicated Doctor of Medicine – so you can train to become a doctor, right here in the regions.
This is a critical investment in the future of Australia’s medical workforce. Moreover, it’s an important step in addressing the shortage of doctors in our rural and regional communities.
And you can be part of it. You can train in the bush and develop the skills, knowledge and networks that will allow you to take up rural medical practice.
It’s where you can make your mark
So do you want to be at the cutting edge of where medicine is going in Australia? Do you want to study your medicine degree in Australia in the regions so you can make a difference for the regions?
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