Inaugural Rural Training Pathways Congress opens up new discussions for careers in regional medicine
The Re-invigorating the Rural Medical Workforce: Rural Training Pathways Congress event held in Mildura on 9 December 2022 brought together over 60 medical students, junior doctors, and representatives from regional health services and supporting organisations to discuss new training pathways in regional medicine. Hosted by the Monash Regional Training Hubs, the inaugural event also provided a showcase of the Mildura region.
“The idea for the congress was to get all the regional doctors and administrators in the Victorian region to get together and learn from each other with the ultimate aim of recruiting and retaining doctors in the medical workforce in regional areas, ” explained Associate Professor Hieu Pham, Deputy Director of the North West Victorian Regional Training Hub and Congress Chair.
The event provided a great opportunity for young doctors to explore the region’s health services. Attendees toured Mildura Base Public Hospital and Mildura Health Private Hospital, including a look at the new Mildura Health Icon Cancer Centre. Hearing from experienced rural doctors and specialists, junior doctors such as recent Monash graduate Dr Gabin Soosaipillai were able to see options for their future career pathways and get a sense of what Mildura has to offer for young medical professionals.
“It's exciting to see so many people gathered around Mildura all talking about rural health care and improving retention and training outcomes in places like Mildura.”
An additional stream of the conference attended by senior clinicians and representatives from the Royal Australian College of General Practice, Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, regional health services and supporting organisations provided the opportunity to share successes with existing regional training programs, such as end-to-end psychiatry training in Mildura. The group also workshopped possibilities for extended rural training in other areas of medicine.
Director of the North West Victorian Regional Training Hub, Associate Professor Janelle Brennan, acknowledged the success of the event in bringing together important rural expertise and working together towards shared goals of attracting and retaining a strong and sustainable rural medical workforce.
“One of the most exciting things about this event is that it took place in a rural community, allowing contributions by local service providers, which are often not heard in discussions about rural health in major centres. It was also able to showcase the range of opportunities and lifestyle on offer in the region.”
Following the success of this event, the Monash Regional Training Hubs are planning to run another Rural Training Pathways Congress in 2023 to explore pathways for training and health careers in the Gippsland region. To be notified about our next Rural Training Pathways Congress, contact Sarah Renn to register your interest.
View highlights from the Rural Training Pathways Congress in our image gallery or video below.
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Monash Rural Health Regional Training Hubs
The Monash Rural Health Regional Training Hubs facilitate speciality training and career development opportunities for junior doctors, to help them live, work and train rurally. The Monash Regional Training Hubs are supported by the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program of the Department of Health.