The students are undertaking their first clinical year with Monash Rural Health in Bendigo and were welcomed by Echuca Regional Health, which highlighted the range of opportunities on offer to practise in hospitals as GPs in regional settings.
The group heard from local GPs and rural generalists about the diversity of their work and regional lifestyles, including recent Monash graduate Dr Lachlan Carroll, who is completing his internship at ERH, as part of the Victorian Rural Generalist Program’s Loddon Mallee pathway.
Students also visited Rochester to see first-hand the ongoing flood impacts on the health service and spent time at Njernda Medical Centre to gain insight into its community-connected model of primary care delivery.
The day included a tour of two other regional GP clinics and time on the wards and emergency department at ERH.
The visit was part of a new Future Focus week, designed by the Monash North West Victoria Regional Training Hub and Monash Rural Health Bendigo, to give students the chance to hear from rural doctors in primary care settings early in their degree.
“Rural generalists and general practitioners are the backbone of rural healthcare — though at the start of clinical placements, many students are unfamiliar with the depth and breadth of these roles, and the ability to design their own future pathway and work in their own niche area of interest as a GP,” North West Victoria Regional Training Hub manager Sophie Burke said.
“Today was an opportunity for our students to hear first-hand from some of the amazing rural generalists and GPs in Echuca, Elmore and Rochester, and their diversity of skills and roles, and it will enable them to consider this in the context of their future medical career.”
For Monash medical student Anna Nowotny, the experience opened her eyes to the world of rural generalism.
“I really enjoyed today and loved learning from the practitioners who work in this region about their journeys and the different pathways available to students who want to work in rural and regional areas,” she said.
“Before today, my knowledge of the rural generalist program was limited and I didn't know how it was different from general practice. I’m now incredibly interested in this program and seriously considering applying to become a rural generalist.”
