CHARLES Sturt University says a new, independent economic impact assessment provides a compelling case for the Murray Darling Medical School (MDMS).
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The study, by advisory firm PPB Advisory, was commissioned by CSU and La Trobe University, which are urging the federal government to provide funding and medical training places so the MDMS can turn rural students into rural doctors.
CSU vice-chancellor Professor Andrew Vann said he was pleased the independent analysis had established a case for the MDMS.
“The MDMS will train local kids to become local doctors and we continue to urge the federal government to provide funding and the necessary medical training places,” he said.
According to the report, the MDMS will help solve doctor shortages in regional NSW and Victoria by providing around 90 doctors to the region each year once fully operating.
It also found that compared to current metropolitan based approaches, the MDMS is likely to be more efficient and effective in increasing the number of rural and regional doctors.
Other findings include the MDMS is potentially three to five times more efficient than metropolitan universities in training doctors who will work in rural Australia; and the MDMS will bring around $2 billion in additional benefits to the region through direct expenditures and secondary impacts.
The MDMS will be offered in Orange, Bendigo and Wagga Wagga, with students active in another 16 clinical training centres in regional towns throughout regional Victoria and NSW.