Message from Head of Mayne Academy of Rural and Remote Medicine
Professor Bruce Chater
The Mayne Academy of Rural and Remote Medicine is responsible for educating our medical students about the true meaning of rural and remote medicine. We would like to thank our Rural Generalist and General Practitioner preceptors and their staff at our rural sites, including hospitals, general practices, multipurpose health services and Aboriginal medical services for their generosity in teaching and supporting our students in the Year 1 TROHPIQ Rural Elective Experience Scholarship program (TREES) and the Year 3 Rural and Remote Medicine (RRM) block. Across 51 sites, our dedicated preceptors have supervised over 9,100 days of student rural experiences. These students have also produced 271 rural health projects, each of which has made, in a small way, an impact on those rural communities, and left them with a deeper understanding of these regions.
The Year 2 selective (Introduction to RRM) has also been a great opportunity for students to get a further taste of rural, with 60 students taking this course in Semester 2, 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work; leading us to be flexible in program delivery, host an online Introductory Week and delay the start of one of our placement blocks. Thankfully, our experience last year has left us well prepared for 2022, and our office staff and academics have pivoted beautifully. We can see that our Rural and Remote Medicine opportunities change students’ views of ‘rural’ and that preparation and immersion are vital to the experience. A big thanks to our regional sites for helping with Introductory Week and special mention to our rural sites - Emerald, Theodore, Roma, Goondiwindi, Kingaroy, and Laidley, who also stepped up and gave our students an authentic rural experience.
The next few years will see major changes to the medical curriculum with an emphasis on community, generalism and our rural pathway. We look forward to the students enjoying the opportunities this will bring.