More than 100 medical students are training in Ballarat this year across three university clinical campuses, with new research showing those who train in regional and remote areas are more likely to work there in the future.
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Deakin University and University of Melbourne have around 100 students studying in their rural clinical schools and training with Grampians Health, while the University of Notre Dame has 16 students at St John of God Hospital.
They also have specific rural medicine pathways in a bid to increase the number of medical students who come from regional and rural areas.
Deakin University's new Rural Training Stream, which began last year, has admitted its second intake this year of 30 medical students from rural backgrounds, with priority given to applicants from Ballarat, south-west Victoria and the Grampians-Wimmera region.
Deakin University Ballarat clinical school director Associate Professor Sue Garner said many people from the region had taken up the opportunity so far, and numbers were expected to grow.
It's really important that students from our region remain living in and connected to their communities whilst completing their medical studies
- Professor Gary Rogers
From next year, students entering Deakin's Doctor of Medicine (MD) as part of the Rural Training Stream will be able to complete the first two years of their course at Deakin's campus in Warrnambool, or East Grampians Health Service in Ararat rather than the Waurn Ponds campus in Geelong.
Students then complete years three and four at Deakin's Ballarat clinical school or one of their other rural clinical schools.
Dean of the School of Medicine, Professor Gary Rogers said the changes would give aspiring doctors greater choice in where they live and study.
"It's really important that students from our region remain living in and connected to their communities whilst completing their medical studies," Professor Rogers said. "Being forced to move away to attend university is not only a financial burden it is also disruptive for them and their families and makes it less likely they will return as a future doctor."
University of Melbourne has 49 students across the second, third and fourth years of their medical degrees based in Ballarat this year, and runs three other rural clinical school sites.
Their Doctor of Medicine includes a Rural Pathway where students from rural and regional areas can complete their studies entirely in rural and regional areas to become a doctor.
"The Rural Clinical School has increased our medical student intake since the commencement of the Doctor of Medicine 'Rural Pathway' where we train first year medical students who are from rural or regional Australia at the Rural Clinical School," said Dr Shabna Rajapaksa, Deputy Director of Medical Student Education (co-subdean), Rural Clinical School.
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A recent University of Queensland study found providing rural medical training, and more exposure to rural generalists, increased the likelihood of students returning to rural and regional areas to work once qualified.
The likelihood of them returning to the regional and rural medical workforce was highest when they completed at least two years in a regional centre training program, such as is offered in Ballarat, combined with placements in smaller rural or remote sites involving extended exposure with rural generalists.
"It shows again how it doesn't have to be a huge amount of experience, but at least some experience in rural and regional medical training is making a difference," Dr Garner said.
"Rural generalists are able to manage so much within their community and to allow students to spend time with them and see that is invaluable."
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