CHARLES Sturt University says the success of its veterinary science degree in delivering vets to rural areas is an indication that its proposed medical school would attract doctors to regional Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One hundred per cent of Charles Sturt University's first veterinary graduates, who graduated last month, accepted jobs in a rural area.
The program, based in Wagga Wagga, was established to address the chronic shortage of vets in rural and regional Australia.
Students selected for the degree were of rural backgrounds or needed to demonstrate that they were committed to working in a regional area.
"Thirty graduates completed the Charles Sturt University veterinary program last month, and every single one of our graduates was employed in rural or regional practice within one day of completion," vice-chancellor Professor Ian Goulter said.
"This is not only a 100 per cent success rate for our graduates getting a job, but a 100 per cent success rate in achieving our mission to ensure the future supply of vets in regional Australia."
The veterinary program is the model being used for the development of the proposed medical school at CSU's Orange campus.
Its success follows a recent report that up to 90 per cent of graduates of some health and human services degrees at CSU were working in rural areas.
"The success of the veterinary program proves once again that Charles Sturt University stands alone in its ability to attract students who are predisposed to rural practice, educate students for rural practice, and retain graduates in rural practice," Professor Goulter said.
"If the government is really serious about solving the rural doctor crisis, it is difficult to see how they could ignore these results when we have seen the number of Australian educated doctors in rural practice continue to fall over the last 10 years."
lisa.cox@ruralpress.com
