Rural Medicine
Rural medicine in Australia plays a critical role in addressing the unique healthcare challenges faced by remote and regional communities. The vast and diverse geography of Australia demands rural practitioners offer a wide range of services that are adaptable and fit for purpose meeting the needs of the communities they work in. As part of their skills and knowledge they navigate the complexities of providing healthcare in geographically isolated areas, where access to medical facilities and resources are limited.
Initiatives, such as the National Rural Generalist Pathway aim to attract, train and retain medical professionals in rural areas, ensuring that these communities have access to quality healthcare.
National Rural Generalist Pathway
The Australian Government have developed the National Rural Generalist Pathway, and the National Rural Health Commissioner provides advice on the implementation of this pathway. The National Rural Health Commissioner leads the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner and is an independent statutory office holder, appointed by the minister with responsibility for rural health for a term of up to 2 years.
More information on the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner can be found on the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
The National Rural Generalist Pathway is a comprehensive program across a number of health professions (Rural and Remote Medicine, Allied Health and Nursing). For Medicine it offers a structured training framework for doctors in training who aspire to become rural generalists.
The national pathway recognises the need to equip medical practitioners with the diverse skills necessary to provide comprehensive and accessible healthcare in geographically isolated areas. Training that integrates training across acute (hospital) and primary health care settings in regional, rural/remote communities.
More information on the National Pathway can be found on the Australian Department of Health website.
© Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Health) 2020.
This figure is an excerpt from the National Rural Health Commissioner Final Report June 2020 PDF (1.3 MB).
Who are Rural Generalists?
Rural generalists are general practitioners who provide primary health care services, emergency medicine, have training in additional specialist skills like obstetrics, anaesthetics or mental health services in a regional hospital and/or community settings as part of a rural healthcare team.
Rural generalists are an important part of our regional, rural and remote health workforce. They broaden the range of locally available medical services for rural and remote Australians. This helps these rural and regional communities to access the right care, in the right place, at the right time, as close to home as possible. Growing our rural generalist workforce will reduce hospital admissions, reduce the use of locum services and limit the need for patient travel.