Charles Sturt University (CSU) has announced it will open a second campus of its planned medical school in Wagga Wagga, pending Federal Government funding.
The University is awaiting a formal decision from the Federal Government on its 2010 proposal to address chronic rural doctor shortages by opening a dedicated rural medical school in Orange.
CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann said representations from the local community and medical fraternity, and communities across inland NSW and northern Victoria, were integral in the University’s decision to expand the proposal to include a Wagga Wagga campus. “Charles Sturt University is a multi-campus university, which means we are able to create opportunities for more rural students, and we are able to address workforce needs more effectively across multiple regions,” he said.
Under the expanded plan to be submitted to the government and opposition, CSU will propose the creation of a multi-campus medical program similar to its multi-campus programs in pharmacy, physiotherapy and medical imaging.
The key features of the planned program include:
- A six-year undergraduate program
- Guaranteed 80 per cent ‘genuine’ rural student intake
- Annual intake of 120 students, spread evenly across the Orange and Wagga Wagga campuses
- Problem-based and case-based learning
- Majority of clinical training in rural and regional hospitals and health facilities
- Interprofessional learning (integrated teaching of medical and other health students)
- Development of rural training pathways incorporating GP proceduralist pathway.
“Like our Orange Campus, the Wagga Wagga Campus has state-of-the-art laboratories and health training facilities that can be used as part of a medical education program,” Professor Vann said.
“The new National Life Sciences Hub was designed to accommodate growth in our health sciences profile. We will also refurbish some of our existing laboratories for specialist medical training.
“We will need funding for a new academic and teaching facility to be constructed on the campus as part of the planned program, and we will talk to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital about our needs and how we can access training facilities.”
“The multi-campus proposal will not only expand opportunities to study medicine to more rural students, it will also allow us to work with more regional and rural hospitals and health services to distribute clinical and medical training load.
“This will help to ensure students get a broader educational experience, as well as create important linkages between students and communities in rural and remote areas that will support future rural practice.”
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