Study supports benefits of rural training exposure

Medical students who train as GPs in regional or remote areas are the most likely to stick around, according to new research.
 
The Australian-first study by the University of Notre Dame Australia looked at 1220 medical graduates from nine universities and checked for correlations between their specialisations and their decision to work in rural areas later in their career.
 
Although there is a critical shortage of doctors in rural, regional and remote areas in Australia, 30% of GPs surveyed were still practising out in the country a decade into their careers.
 
This is compared to 10% of other specialists, with just 15% of surgical specialists ending up in non-metropolitan areas.
 
RACGP Rural Deputy Chair Dr Rod Omond there are obvious reasons to explain why GPs stay in the areas they train in, especially in remote settings.
 
‘It probably has a lot to do with the fact that they’re actually out in communities in rural and regional areas, whereas the other specialties are often doing hospital rotations,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘The hospital’s pretty much the same wherever it is, but when you’re in a rural general practice, there’s a different feel to it than an urban general practice.’
 
And it’s not just the small-town sense of community that draws in long-term GPs, with Dr Omond pointing out the clinical experience is also far more hands-on.
 
‘There’s more responsibility, they have to be more autonomous and often they’re involved in more emergency care with sicker patients,’ he said.
 
‘So, the opportunities for enhancement of their skills become more obvious to them if they work in rural areas.’
 
Data released earlier this year shows the general practice career path of rural generalism is proving more popular than ever.
 
For GP obstetrician Dr Clare Hardie, the idea of going remote came from a rural stint during her third year in medicine and she now is the only obstetrician in town.
 
‘When I came there were two obstetricians, but they have both since left, so if I was to go there would be no one here permanently to replace me,’ she said.
 
‘That continuity of care is so important.
 
‘If you see a woman throughout their pregnancy, you have automatic rapport in the birth suite – and they have trust in you – which makes the birth experience more positive.’
 
Lead researcher from Notre Dame’s Wagga Wagga Clinical School, Dr Alexa Seal says this study ‘reinforces the impact of rural training pathways on a doctor’s longer-term work location’.
 
‘Specialist training needs to be expanded to support more rural training opportunities for doctors outside general practice because we know that rural exposure is associated with the likelihood of living rurally in the future,’ she said.
 
Dr Hardie is now seeing some mothers for their second babies in her regional town, which she says is one of the most rewarding parts of her work.
 
‘I seem to get hit up at Coles a lot now,’ she said.
 
‘You get that because it’s a small town. You’re seeing the same patients, you see them continually, you see them for the birth and then a few years later you get to do it all again.’
 
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