Rural Clinical Schools

• Background Information
• Educational Experience
• Bathurst
• Lismore

Background Information

In 2009, the UWS School of Medicine received a grant from the Federal Department of Health & Ageing to establish two rural clinical schools (RCS). These are being established in Lismore and Bathurst.

The Rural Clinical Schools program is designed to encourage medical students to take up a career in rural practice by enabling them to undertake extended clinical training placements in rural locations.
The program also seeks to have a more immediate impact on the rural medical workforce by encouraging health professionals to take up rural academic positions, often through joint funding arrangements with local area health services.

The development of rural medical training infrastructure, including new educational facilities and student accommodation is a major aspect of the program in this start-up phase. Plans are well underway in both Bathurst & Lismore to provide purpose-built student accommodation and rural educational facilities. Expected date of completion of works will be mid 2011.

Educational Experience

The delivery of the UWS Medical Program in rural settings gives students both excellence in medical education experience as well as the benefits of a rural lifestyle to encourage graduates to return to live and practise in rural and remote Australia.

The RCS also provides an academic focus for clinicians, teachers and researchers who wish to become part of the University presence in a rural environment.

Students in rural schools complete the same curriculum as their Sydney-based classmates, within a rural context. They can expect:

• small student-teacher ratios
• easy access to clinical experience
• enhanced skills acquisition
• less commuting
• well-equipped learning & living facilities
• friendly country communities

Bathurst RCS

At Bathurst, the Rural Clincial School development is under the leadership of the Clinical Dean, Associate Professor Tim McCrossin. Associate Professor McCrossin is a Consultant Paediatrician and has lived in Bathurst with his family for 13 years.

Eight students will be placed in the Bathurst Rural Clinical School in June 2010.

About Bathurst Hospital

Bathurst Hospital is a Rural Acute Hospital located on the eastern border of Greater Western Area Health Service. Bathurst Hospital has 101 beds and services the acute needs of the community. Clinical Services within the hospital include:

• Allied Health
• Ambulatory Care
• Coronary Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Intensive Care
• Medical
• Mental Health
• Obstetrics & gynaecology
• Oncology
• Paediatrics
• Pathology
• Radiology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Surgical

Lismore RCS

The School of Medicine is a partner in the North Coast Medical Education Collaboration (opens in a new window) with the University of Sydney and the University of Wollongong.

Fourteen students will be placed at Lismore Rural Clinical School in June 2010.

Clinical School Facilities

GWAHS has invited UWS School of Medicine to set up an education precinct in a parallel & complementary development of the AHS Education Centre, planned to be within the old hospital heritage block. The Greater Western Area Health Service is still assessing all the needs and has now appointed a Project Control Group to progress the plans.

Key education providers in the proposed Education Centre will include:

• GWAHS Learning and Development Unit
• University of Western Sydney Rural Clinical School
• NSW Institute of Medical Education and Training (IMET)
• Charles Sturt University (CSU).

The Education cluster within the Heritage Development will comprise a lecture theatre, two tutorial rooms, a clinical skills laboratory, a computer training room and associated storage and audiovisual support areas.  The lecture theatre and tutorial venues are to be designed to allow configuration to support a range of education, seminar and conferencing requirements.

Research

In Bathurst it is planned to have students complete their Community Group Research Project one day per week for 20 weeks. Students will be encouraged to explore issues of disadvantage as it might apply to healthcare within a Rural community.

Medical research will be an increasing aspect of the activities. We encourage our students to be involved in research and facilitate our staff and teachers to be involved in research projects. An increasing number of medical publications attest to this success.

Contact

Ms Johanna Halloran
Administration Officer
Bathurst Rural Clinical School
Bathurst Hospital
Howick Street
Bathurst, NSW, 2795

Telephone: 02 6330 5601
Email: j.halloran@uws.edu.au