Growing the pool of rural general practitioners

The critical importance of primary health care in maintaining a healthy population is well established internationally. Nevertheless, general practitioner care is not always easily accessible for some patients in Australia, particularly in rural regions. This is partly due to an insufficient number...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rural and remote health 2020-11, Vol.20 (4), p.1-7
Main Authors: O'Toole, Ronan F, Wright, Julian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Colleges & universities
Family physicians
general practice
Health services
Health services accessibility
healthcare access
Immersion programs
Internships
Medical education
Medical schools
Medical students
Medicine
Modified Monash Model
Personnel management
Physicians
Physicians (General practice)
Primary care
Primary health care
Rural areas
Rural conditions
Rural health care
Rural health services
rural health workforce
Study and teaching
Supply and demand
Workforce
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Summary:The critical importance of primary health care in maintaining a healthy population is well established internationally. Nevertheless, general practitioner care is not always easily accessible for some patients in Australia, particularly in rural regions. This is partly due to an insufficient number of medical graduates entering and being retained in the rural general practitioner workforce. Key elements of international and national programs designed to address this shortfall are discussed and include the use of entry requirements that preferentially select for applicants from a rural residence background, and immersion of medical students for a large share, or entire duration, of their training in rural communities. In addition, other factors that can influence decisions to enter and stay in rural practice are discussed.
ISSN:1445-6354
1445-6354
DOI:10.22605/RRH5769