Rural workforce issues
Community residencies, shaping our future medical workforce in Western AustraliaDr Colleen Bradford Department of Health, Perth,
Western Australia In 2009 an additional 120 graduates from the University of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Western Australia will enter the medical workforce. The Department of Health WA has instigated a project to develop community residencies for these doctors in outer metropolitan and rural areas. Each residency will be based on general practice as the mainstay of these junior doctors’ education and experience to fulfil the requirements of the Junior Doctors Curriculum and ensure that they obtain full and unconditional registration. |
An approach to the understanding and measurement of medical students’ attitudes toward a rural careerGeorge Somers Monash University School of
Rural Health, Bendigo, Victoria The undersupply of rural medical practitioners is an international problem. Despite the implementation of many programs over several decades, little improvement has occurred. Rural programs have focused on factors external to the individual and their effectiveness has been measured on associations based on recruitment and retention rates of rural practitioners many years later. |
Sustainable general practice and improved patient outcomes. How chronic workforce issues have been solved in five towns in Western NSWDr Ross Lamplugh, Dr Hamish Meldrum Ochre Health Bourke, Brewarrina, Boggabri, Coonamble and Collarenebri are all towns in western NSW that had suffered medical workforce crises – with some of them having no permanent doctors for years. |
National consensus on rural maternity services – what can it achieve?Richard Lawrance Royal Australian College
of General Practitioners Twenty-nine percent (29%) of all babies born in Australia are born in rural and remote areas. Two-thirds of Australia’s hospitals are in small rural towns. Yet over the past 10 years over 125 rural maternity units have closed across Australia. |
The delineation of clinical privileges for rural hospitals – the South Australian experienceRobert Cooter The history of clinical privileging for rural hospitals in SA commenced in 1978 when three doctors representing AMA and RACGP surveyed a large area of rural SA to examine concerning aspects of general practice, including standards of care, recruitment needs, topics for training, and the need for clinical privileging of rural doctors in their hospitals. |