Bathurst welcomed its fifth intake of fourth-year undergraduate medical students from the University of Western Sydney yesterday, and they are all fired up about what they want to achieve during their 12 months in the city.
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Dr Tim McCrossin, clinical dean of the Bathurst UWA Rural Clinical School, said it is always exciting to welcome a new group of students.
He said Bathurst Base Hospital is already seeing some of the students, who have taken part in the program in the past, returning as junior medical officers.
Dr McCrossin said in addition to being part of the clinical teams to which they will be attached, he also wants to see the 12 students immersed in local community activities. One of the community projects the students have been a part of in previous years is the Teddy Bear’s Hospital at the Royal Bathurst Show.
“Our aim is to expose them to a rural and regional setting with the hope that they will look at working here in the long term,” Dr McCrossin said.
The students have 18 months of their course left, and when they complete their 12-month placement in Bathurst, they will return to UWS for their final six months before graduating.
While in Bathurst they will rotate through various disciplines including surgery, medicine, general practice, paediatrics, Aboriginal health and oncology.
Danielle Klingberg and Alicia Miers, two of the students who will spend the next 12 months here, are already excited about the reduced travel time.
Danielle said she is really keen to move to a rural town when she graduates, and so she welcomes the opportunity to experience living in such a community and working in a smaller hospital.
Alicia is also looking forward to working in a smaller hospital because she believes it will give her the opportunity to gain more clinical experience and there will be fewer students, which means more opportunities.
She said when she began her first year of studying medicine she hadn’t considered working in the country, but after hearing from some of the other students who have done rural placements, she is really looking forward to working in a rural environment.
“There are so many resources here,” she said.
Member for Bathurst Paul Toole was on hand to welcome these students.
“This is something I feel very close to, having been involved since 2010 when I was mayor of the city,” he said. “That first year we had eight students and now the demand is so high we have filled 12 positions.”