About the initiative
The Murray–Darling Medical Schools Network consists of 5 rurally based university medical school programs in the Murray–Darling region of New South Wales and Victoria.
Why it is important
The network allows medical students to do most of their study and training in the Murray–Darling region of New South Wales and Victoria. This reduces the need for them to move to metropolitan areas and means they are more likely to work in rural areas after graduating.
Evidence shows that students are more likely to work in rural areas after graduating if they:
- come from a rural background
- undertake long-term rural training.
Goals
The goals of the Murray–Darling Medical Schools Network over the short to long term are to:
- increase the number of medical students studying in rural areas
- increase the number of medical graduates working in rural areas
- build new or expanded teaching facilities and extra student accommodation across several sites in the Murray–Darling region
- benefit rural hospitals through increased staffing and workforce sustainability.
The network provides students with the option of studying and training in more than 20 regional and rural communities. The Western Sydney University's School of Medicine, which delivers the Doctor of Medicine - offered jointly between Charles Sturt and Western Sydney University (WSU) - is part of the Australian Government’s Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network and aims to tackle the shortage of doctors in regional and rural Australia by training medical students to become doctors in rural settings.
Western Sydney University - "We thank our colleagues at Charles Sturt University, the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network, and of course, the Australian Government for this significant investment in Australia’s future medical workforce – we know this program will have a long and lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of our local communities for decades to come.”
