The opening of the new office of the general practitioner training and placement organisation Beyond Medical Education Limited at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst is an investment in the future of regional Australia, according to a senior executive.

 

Ms Megan Armstrong, the deputy Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Medical Education, said the organisation’s mission fits perfectly with CSU’s goal of training medical practitioners from, in and for regional Australia.

 

“The people of rural and regional Australia need more doctors, now and in the future. Charles Sturt University’s research, which shows that students from ‘the bush’ who are educated and trained in rural areas are more likely to remain in or return to work in regional locations, is central to our organisation’s operational philosophy,” Ms Armstrong said.

 

The Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Ian Goulter, said, "Beyond Medical Education is the premier general practitioner training organisation in rural Australia, and its location on our campus will provide important opportunities for engagement around Charles Sturt University’s health and medical education strategy."

 

CSU submitted its bid for $98 million in capital funding to establish a new medical program in rural NSW to the Federal Government on Monday 13 December. Beyond Medical Education is the leading provider of general practice training for medical graduates in rural and regional NSW and Victoria. Its vast territory extends from western and northern Victoria through far western, northern and central west NSW.

 

“Beyond Medical Education operates an apprenticeship model of training placements for registrars who wish to specialise as general practitioners after they have completed their hospital training,” Ms Armstrong said.

 

“Presently, about 90 per cent of our trainee medical placements are overseas-trained. But in 2012, as the cohort of doctors graduate from medical education programs initiated by the Commonwealth government, we expect to be able to place increasing numbers of Australia-trained doctors in rural and regional NSW and Victoria.

 

“Beyond Medical Education also provides scholarships to some clinical science and medical science students, particularly those who might wish to redirect their careers to study medicine.”

 

Ms Armstrong noted that the ‘common ground’ shared by CSU and Beyond Medical Education gives rise to the potential for future specific-purpose training and certification of general practitioners and a range of health professionals such as nurses, paramedics and allied health practitioners such as physiotherapists.

 

Beyond Medical Education Limited, with its head office in Bendigo, Victoria, has about 20 of its 45 staff located at CSU in Bathurst. You can read more here.