• Charles Sturt University’s Clinical Skills Education Centre at Bloomfield Private Medical Centre in Orange given development approval
• Joint Program in Medicine, run in partnership with Western Sydney University, will welcome its first cohort of students in 2021

Charles Sturt University’s push to strengthen regional healthcare has passed another milestone with Orange City Council (OCC) approving the development application of the University’s Clinical Skills Education Centre in Orange.

The facility will be housed on the first of six storeys at the Bloomfield Private Medical Centre and will support the training of students in the Charles Sturt and Western Sydney University  Joint Program in Medicine, which will welcome its first cohort of 37 students in 2021.

The space will include rooms for teaching clinical skills, tutorials and general learning, as well as meetings and conferences, and quiet rooms and other workspaces.

This facility will support the major capital works currently under way at Charles Sturt University in Orange.

The inaugural Dean of the School of Rural Medicine, Professor Lesley Forster, said the approval by OCC marked another stepping stone in Charles Sturt’s push to ensure the provision of highly skilled medical professionals ready to meet the healthcare needs of regional Australians.

“This Centre will provide state-of-the-art clinical and learning facilities that will greatly improve medical education at Charles Sturt University and benefit Orange Health Service and its staff,” she said.

“The Doctor of Medicine curriculum takes into account the healthcare needs of regional communities.

“This facility, as part of the $22 million capital works program which also includes the Academic and Research Hub and medical education facilities under construction on the Orange campus, will be at the heart of servicing those needs into the future.”

The site for the new facility, adjacent to Orange Health Service, will further enhance the learning opportunities for the inaugural and subsequent Doctor of Medicine students, Professor Forster said.

OCC Mayor, Councillor Reg Kidd, congratulated Charles Sturt on its progress towards the new training centre.

“There’s long-standing research that talks about medicos being more likely to stay and work in the regions if they’ve trained in the regions. Charles Sturt University is putting that understanding into practice by opening this new training facility,” Councillor Kidd said.

“Orange City Council is working on getting NSW Government assistance to create a new Health and Innovation precinct around the Bloomfield campus. There are already many strengths to be built on and this new training space will be one more.

“Compared to living and working in an inner-city capital, Orange and the Bloomfield campus is going to be very attractive for students.”

The Bloomfield Private Medical Centre comprises of six levels over 13,000 square metres and will include operating theatres, a hospital ward, a wide range of medical specialists, as well as facilities for general practitioners, imaging and pathology.

The fit-out of the Clinical Skills Education Centre is scheduled to be completed early 2021 in time for the commencement of new students in the Doctor of Medicine program in February 2021.

Applications for entry into the Joint Program in Medicine, which is part of the Commonwealth’s Murray Darling Medical Schools Network, are now open.

Prospective students have until midnight Wednesday 30 September to apply for the course through the Universities Admission Centre (UAC), with students from rural and regional backgrounds strongly encouraged to apply.