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Workshops On Rural Careers In Health For Year 10 Students
The Remote and Rural Training Unit in Dubbo NSW has taken a proactive approach to two familiar problems that face small rural towns: the departure of young people from country towns and the inability of these towns to attract and retain health care workers. It is well documented that there are severe shortages of trained health professionals in remote and rural regions throughout Australia. Studies in Australia and overseas indicate that professionals with a rural background are the ones most likely to return to the country to practice after training. Students from country areas, however, are under-represented in health-related courses in universities and other training institutions.
Aims
The Rural Schools for Health Careers Workshop is one of the core activities of the Remote and Rural Health Training Unit. It encourages Year 10 students from north-west New South Wales to consider a career in health. The fundamental aim of the workshops is that many of the students attending will ultimately decide upon a career in health.
What the Program does
The workshop is a five-day residential held in Dubbo. It provides information and a positive experience to encourage the student's interest while promoting the benefits and diversity of a career in health. It is hoped that a percentage of students who choose a career in health will ultimately return to a rural or remote area once they are qualified thus providing rural areas with health professionals who have a strong affiliation with rural life.
Currently the project is available to students from both public and private schools in the Macquarie and Far West Area Health Service areas of NSW.
The Program has been running since 1997. Approximately 20 Year 10 students attend the workshop each year. The participants come from communities such as Bourke, Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Narromine, Walgett and Wellington.
The students were interested in a diverse range of health career areas such as:
- diversional therapy
- massage therapy
- rehabilitation counselling
- medicine
- nursing
- osteopathy
- paramedicine
- psychology
- speech pathology
- naturopathy
- nutrition
- chiropractic
- pathology
- radiography
- medical research
- nuclear medicine
- occupational therapy
- dietician
- physiotherapy
- sports medicine
- dentistry
The Program also involved current university students from various regional areas speaking to the participants about their university experience.
What makes it successful
Although a comprehensive study needs to be carried out, one indicator of the success of this program so far, is that 10 previous participants of the program were accepted into Medicine in 2001 - an outstanding achievement for country scholarship and hard work.
Nevertheless other signs of success can be measured.
Due to the nature of the residential workshop and the intensity of the five-day Program the Training Unit staff have been able to develop a close relationship with workshop participants. This enables us to give specific support tailored to each individual and creates a relationship where students feel free to approach the Training Unit staff and other health professionals both during and outside the workshop. Following the workshop we have been able to directly approach participants to inform them of opportunities available which would enhance the likelihood of them successfully gaining entry into a health career. This year we had significant numbers of the participants returning to the Unit for assistance with the arrangement of Year 10 work experience
(Report and Evaluation of the Rural Schools for Health Careers Workshop, 1999 Evaluation, page 7).
Difficulties encountered
One problem experienced is that the Program is conducted during school holidays. The students are expected to devote half their holidays to the workshop. However, student reluctance has largely been overcome by providing an active social program during the evenings. This includes sporting activities and events like going to the cinema and dining out.
Funding sources
The Remote and Rural Health Training Unit receives a grant from the Rural Doctors' Network which enables the Program to fully subsidise student attendance.
