The Rural Doctors’ Network has hosted 22 cadets in Dubbo for a conference and networking opportunity in the hope they’ll return to the regions after they graduate.
Fifth year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery student, Matt McAlpine, is the son of a country general practitioner and is already planning a future in the country.
He says he has seen the benefits and difficulties of rural medicine, including a stint as a fly-in fly-out student doctor to Lightning Ridge.
“I was with a paediatric psychiatrist out there and that’s the path I’m looking to go down,” he said.
“It’s a great chance to see how health care is delivered on a rural and remote area to those sort of areas that can’t feasibly have a specialist doctor there full-time.”
The cadetship includes the students spending the first two years after graduation in one of five regional areas including Orange and Dubbo.
Mr McAlpine says groups such as the Rural Doctors Network are vital for support.
“As a student to get an insight into that and going rural doesn’t necessarily mean cutting off from life as we know it.
“It’s actually getting a better lifestyle and seeing rural medicine in a rural context.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to mean that you’re missing out on all the other things that we went into medicine for in the first place.”
Source: ABC News