Extended rural placements help students become country doctors

Research conducted by our Research Group and Mayne Academy of Rural and Remote Medicine has shown that medical students who completed a 12-week training program in a rural or remote area were more likely to work as doctors in similar communities.

The group examined data on the career outcomes of 2,806 medical students who graduated between 2012 and 2021 and, in particular, data on students who opted to participate in the 12-week Extended Placement Program (EPP).

The findings show that students who participated in the 12-week EPP in a small rural town were around three times more likely to work in a similar-sized community after graduating.

Those who combined the EPP with the more common two-year training program in a larger regional centre, were around seven times more likely to work rurally.

Irrespective of whether the students had grown up in a rural location or not, the study found that the program positively influenced workforce outcomes.

Published in the BMJ Open in 2023, the data confirms the importance of these placements as being integral in future planning for medical workforces in rural and remote communities.

The Research Group were also honoured by the request to present their findings to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care and their management teams, who oversee the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program which funds all Rural Clinical Schools in Australia.

To read the full paper visit: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/1/e068704.full