First year medical students from Deakin University spent three days in Ballarat visiting the sights, touring health facilities and talking to medical professionals who have chosen to train and work in the region.

Among the group are members of the first intake of Deakin's Rural Training Stream - students from the region who have been specially selected for medical training in Deakin's Rural Clinical Schools with the hope that they will remain in the country to live and work as graduate doctors.

It's part of a push to train more doctors outside of the major cities and help fill the shortage of doctors in regional, rural and remote areas.

"We've designed this as a completely immersive experience so that our students get to know these communities because we know that graduate doctors are more likely to work in country areas when they feel a sense of community and belonging to those areas," said Deakin Rural Community Clinical School director Associate Professor Lara Fuller.

Fourteen students spent three days in Ballarat last week, and another 14 will arrive this week while others will visit Warrnambool or the Rural Community Clinical School's locations in Ararat, Colac, Daylesford, Portland, Hamilton, Camperdown, Horsham and Stawell.

"Rural and regional areas continue to face a critical shortage of doctors and medical workforce generally," Associate Professor Fuller said.

"The evidence tells us that students from a rural background who complete extended training in a rural clinical school are far more likely to work in rural areas after graduation.

"And there is emerging evidence that the best outcomes occur when students from rural communities are able to complete their training within their own geographic region."

Deakin Ballarat clinical school director Sue Garner said 90 students in all from Deakin's first year medical course were involved across the state.

In Ballarat the group visited the ancestral stones at Lake Wendouree for a Welcome to Country, took a stroll through the Botanic Gardens and Prime Minister's Walk, enjoyed toasties from Tim Bone, visited Ballarat Community Health, met the mayor at Town Hall, walked along Sturt St, and enjoyed a tour and afternoon tea at the Art Gallery where they met Deakin medical alumi and others who now practice medicine in Ballarat.

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They also visited Buninyong, toured Grampians Health Ballarat and spent a day at the Deakin Clinical School learning about the simulation environment used for training.

"We are just trying to connect them early so they can see what it is going to be like," Associate Professor Garner said. "Sometimes they arrive to us in third year with no idea about Ballarat so hopefully we have made a bit of a connection.

"If we can show them, and show them early what it's like in Ballarat and the support they have, and hear real people tell stories about their journey and why they have stayed in Ballarat, it absolutely opens up their eyes to the potential that they don't have to be in Melbourne or Geelong.

"There's more opportunity here you are not competing with as many people get to see and experience a broad range of things."

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