Charles Sturt University Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ross Chambers, welcomed the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, The Hon. Nicola Roxon, MP, to the Wagga Wagga Campus yesterday, Wednesday 21 January.

During the visit, the Minister met with senior academic staff from the Faculty of Science, School of Community Health and School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, to discuss strategies to increase the recruitment and retention of health practitioners in inland communities.

 

“The Minister has been a strong proponent of the University’s new dentistry and oral health programs and was instrumental in gaining bipartisan support for this initiative in 2007,” Professor Chambers said.

 

“The discussions focused on the importance of improved support for inland health students, including expanding clinical placement opportunities and improving support for students while on placement, particularly in smaller regional and remote communities.

 

“The University has strongly backed the commitment of the Federal Government to address the critical shortage of health professionals across inland Australia.

 

“However, we believe that more attention needs to be placed on how we can better support regional students who are significantly more likely to practice in a regional area after completing their studies.

 

“We emphasised to the Minister that 75 percent of Charles Sturt University’s on campus health students are from a rural home location and, of those, 75 percent take up initial health practice in a regional area,” Professor Chambers said.

 

During the visit the Minister also toured the new School of Dentistry and Health Science and CSU Dental Clinic buildings on the Wagga Wagga Campus, which is due to take its first students this year.