Coping with increasing numbers of medical students in rural clinical schools: options and opportunities

Abstract

• The critical shortage of the rural medical workforce in Australia continues.

• There is pressure on medical schools to produce not only more doctors, but to supply them in geographical areas of need.

• The latest policy to tackle these problems will increase medical student numbers while the supply of clinical teachers and patients for teaching remains static.

• This challenges the traditional apprenticeship model for learning medicine.

• Coupled with this is the requirement of medical schools to provide compulsory rural clinical placements for all students.

• The success of rural clinical schools and University Departments of Rural Health (UDRH) is increasingly apparent, but they must find new strategies to maintain a quality clinical experience and exposure to rural lifestyle for all medical students.

• The dilemma is providing this quality rural experience to all medical students in the immediate future.

• We suggest approaches to meet this challenge at a policy, organisational, student and teaching level.