Bathurst Clinical School
Bathurst is one of the two important hubs (Lismore being the other) for Western Sydney University's School of Medicine Rural program. Students choosing to study at the School of Medicine's Bathurst Rural Clinical School (BRCS) will join a well-established and comprehensive clinical training program which began in 2010. It has been under the local leadership of Clinical Dean and Professor, Dr Tim McCrossin since 2009.
Bathurst provides clinical training places for MD students in their fourth and fifth years of training across a number of disciplines. The rural placements are continuous over 12 months and as such are aligned with national rural health workforce priorities.
Located a mere 200km inland from Sydney on the banks of the Macquarie River, Bathurst is the home of the Wiradjuri people and is the site of Australia's oldest inland European settlement with a current estimated population of just over 42,000 people.
Bathurst is a well renowned educational centre and is rich in cultural heritage, art, sporting and tourism facilities. Bathurst offers a refreshing and vibrant lifestyle for its residents.
- Allied health
- Ambulatory Care
- Coronary Care
- Emergency Medicine
- Intensive Care
- Medicine
- Mental Health
- Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Paediatrics
- Pathology
- Radiology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Surgery
The Western Sydney University Rural Program
The rural program is under the leadership of Professor Ross Wilson. Funded through the Australian government's Rural Clinical Training Support (RCTS) program, the Western Sydney University Rural Program has a mandate to address health workforce shortages, primarily in rural and regional NSW. The cornerstone of our program's direction is the provision of strong clinical placements in the two large regional centres of Bathurst and Lismore, a research program with a focus on rural workforce issues and rural health issues and a view to vertical training opportunities, particularly within Rural Government pathways.
The students based in Bathurst complete their Community Research Project in two week blocks with the support of onsite supervisors. Students will be encouraged to explore issues of disadvantage as it might apply to healthcare within a rural community.
The Bathurst research team has built a strong foundation for research with a growing number of staff working on clinical, population health and health service projects.
In 2024, Dr Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu (our Senior Lecturer in Rural Health Research) won the Western NSW Health Research Network (WHRN) 'Research Academic Leader of the Year Award' - read more here.
- Asthma Care from Home: Study protocol for an effectiveness-implementation evaluation of a virtually enabled asthma care initiative in children in rural NSW Mackle R, Crespo Gonzalez C, Chan M, Hodgins M, Hu N, Angell B, Owens L, Fletcher J, MCrossin T, Doyle K, Woolfenden S, Gould B, Ward F, Lingham R, Jaffe A, Gray M, Homaira N, on behalf of the Asthma Care from Home Collaborative Group, PLOS ONE, 2024, 13 June, Epub e0304711
- Retrospective audit compares screening and treatment of pregnancy-related anaemia in regional New South Wales with Australian guidelines Ebrahim M, Vadive PD, Dutton T, Anyasodor AE, Osuagwu UL, Bailey BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2024, July 3, Vol 24, Article 457
- The role of digital health technology interventions in the prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review Nguyen V, Ara P, Simmons D, Osuagwu UL, Clinical Medicine Insights: Endocrinology and Diabetes, 2024, March 26, Vol 17: 1-11
- Translation of a diabetes remission service into Australian Primary Care: Findings from the evaluation of DiRECT-Australia Chimoriya R, Mitlehner K, Khoo CL, Osuagwu UL, Thomson R, Si L, Lean M, Simmons D, Piya MK, Journal of Diabetes Research, 2024, February 8, Article ID 2350551
- The Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network Research Collaboration: protocol for a longitudinal, multi-university program of work to explore the effect of rurally based medical school programs in the Murray-Darling region Turner B, Bullock S, Butler S, Ferrington L, Macartney M, Major L, Monrouxe L, Osuagwu UL, Southwell P, Van Schaik L, Luscombe GM, Rural and Remote Health 2024, January 12, Vol 24, Issue 1
- Mental health and mental health help-seeking behaviors among first-generation voluntary African migrants: A systematic review Botchway-Commey EN, Adonteng-Kissi O, Meribe N, Chisanga D, Moustafa AA, Tembo A, Baffour FD, Gatwiri K, Doyle K, Mwanri L, Osuagwu UL, PLOS ONE, 2024, March 18, Vol 19, Issue 3
- All-cause, premature, and cardiovascular death attributable to socioeconomic and ethnic disparities among New Zealanders with type 1 diabetes 1994-2019: a multi-linked population-based cohort study Yu D, Cai Y, Osuagwu UL, Pickering K, Baker J, Cutfield R, Orr-Walker BJ, Sundborn G, Wang Z, Zhao Z, Simmons D, BMC Public Health, 2024, January 25, Vol 24, Article 298
- Age-matched comparative analysis of binocular vision anomalies among children with dyslexia in Northern Nigeria Mukhtar IS, Ezinne NE, Shahimin MM, Mohd-Ali B, Oghre E, Zeried FM, Osuagwu UL, Pediatric Reports, 2024, July 15, Vol 16, Issue 3: 568-578
The Educational Experience
Medical students in Bathurst will rotate through a number of community-based and hospital-based clinical placements. All students will undertake a term in rural General Practice within one of the nine local general practices we have engaged locally across the towns of Bathurst, Oberon and Blayney. Likewise, all Bathurst Students will undertake a term in Indigenous medicine at the nearby Orange Aboriginal Health Service. Within the Hospital, students will rotate through a number of placements which may include surgery, medicine, paediatrics, oncology, mental health and critical care depending on rotation completed before their rural term.
Student accommodation is provided in the Ben and Elizabeth Chifley cottages in Howick Street, Bathurst. These are two six bedroom fully furnished cottages opposite the Bathurst hospital and these are currently provided at a subsidised rate per student.
The majority of our rural students value the nature of the longitudinal placement which allows them to follow the patient journey from the community, through to the hospital and back again. Our student feedback is generally positive, as per the following testimonial from one of our previous students.
"Coming from a background of being a high school leaver and someone who has never moved out on my own, I was daunted but at the same time curious about rural medicine.
I need not have worried as the support here is incredible. Bathurst has given me a unique opportunity to challenge myself. I have had exposure to a side of medicine and a lifestyle that I would never have experienced if I hadn't taken the chance.
The experience has been invaluable to me and I cannot express how much I enjoyed it. But don't take my word for it, come and see it for yourself!"
| Director, Rural Health | Professor Ross Wilson |
| Clinical Dean | Professor Tim McCrossin |
| Critical Care Coordinator and Education | Jane Corbett-Jones |
| Associate Professor – Medicine | Associate Professor Bruce McGarity |
| Associate Professor - Medical Oncologist | A/Prof Rob Zielinski |
| Senior Lecturer – Rural Health and Research | Dr Levi Osuagwu |
| Associate Professor Rural Health and Research | Associate Professor Peter Denyer-Simmons |
| Senior Lecturer – Medical Oncologist | Dr Peter Fox |
| Senior Lecturer – Surgical | Dr Ian Elbourne |
| Senior Lecturer – General Practice | Dr Kam Wong |
| Mental Health – Supervisor and Senior Lecturer | Tracy Macfarlane |
| Oncology Year 4 Supervisor | Dr Danielle Klingberg |
| Obstetrics and Gynaecology Supervisor | Dr Annie Thomas |
| Obstetrics and Gynaecology Senior Lecturer | Dr Enoka Fernando |
| Rural Program Co-ordinator | Jane Thompson |
| Rural Schools Community Engagement Officer | Nathan Rollinson |
| Administrative Officer | Abbey Hardie |
| Student Coordinator | Sally Lowe |
| Rural Student Support Officer | Fiona Reedy |
| Indigenous Placements Officer | Ian Kennedy |
| Research Officer | Dr Eme John |
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More Information
RuralUP E-Newsletter
This regular e-newsletter reports on the activities, people and places involved in rural medicine at Western.
Rural Health Union of Western Sydney (RHUWS)
This is the multidisciplinary student group at Western Sydney University connecting students with rural health.