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The rural health workforce could be bolstered if medical schools accepted more students from the jungle and offered more training and placements in rural settings, a new study suggests.
The study, which involved rural clinical schools at 11 major Australian universities, looked at where 1,321 medical graduates, 259 of whom had rural backgrounds, were practicing five and eight years later.
The data showed that graduates from areas of the country that had extended experience in rural clinical schools were 3.6 times more likely to practice in regional areas eight years later, and 4.8 times more likely to work in regional areas.
That compares with their metropolitan peers, who did not have extensive training or experience in rural settings, according to the study published in the Australian Medical Journal.
However, city-raised graduates who had extensive rural clinical school experience were more than twice as likely to work in rural and regional areas as those who did not.
The study authors said the data bolstered research on the importance of students’ backgrounds and exposure to rural settings, but that more work was needed.
“Factors such as inadequate labor in rural areas, limited training opportunities, fears of social and professional isolation, and restricted employment opportunities for partners can often influence young doctors when making decisions about where to train and practice,” said lead author Alexa Seal. from the University of Notre Dame.
“More research is needed to understand the barriers and opportunities that are shaping medical student decision-making, and how we can effectively grow and maintain a rural medical workforce to meet the needs of our communities.”