The NSW Government is offering up
to 50 new scholarships worth $3000 each for junior doctors embarking on careers
as Rural Generalists in regional and rural NSW.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the NSW Rural Generalist Medical
Training Program will provide trainees with advanced skills in a range of
health disciplines in areas such as Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Orange, Dubbo,
Bathurst, Coffs Harbour, Lismore and Grafton.
“The NSW Government is committed to doing what it can to build a strong,
long-term medical workforce in the bush so people can be cared for closer to
home,” Mr Hazzard said.
“These new scholarships complement initiatives already
underway to attract
junior doctors to the bush,
such as dedicated pathways for medical graduates wanting to work in rural areas
and supported training programs.”
The NSW Government is funding a record 8300 frontline doctors,
nurses and allied health positions across NSW over this term, with nearly half of
those positions going to rural and regional
areas.
The program, managed by the Health Education and Training Institute
(HETI), provides trainees with advanced skills in areas such as anaesthetics,
obstetrics, mental health, palliative care, emergency medicine and paediatrics.
HETI’s Chief Executive, Adjunct Professor Annette Solman, said HETI’s
Rural Generalist Medical Training Program plays a key role in developing a
medical workforce with advanced skills to service the people who call rural and
regional NSW home.
“We are pleased to announce this initiative to further encourage and
support trainees to embark on fulfilling rural careers with exposure to a wide,
varied and interesting range of clinical practice,” Adjunct Professor Solman
said.
“The program works in close partnership with Local Health Districts and
rural health services, who provide the training and support for the advanced
skills trainees,” she said.
Recruitment to the 2020 RGTP is now open, with the new scholarships
available to advanced skills trainees from 2020. Those already recruited will
receive the scholarship.