The University of Sydney remains under fire for its opposition to the proposed Murray Darling Medical School with federal Member for Calare Andrew Gee seeing “desperation” in its protests that a shortage of doctors in the bush comes down to a lack of training and work opportunities for them.
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Mr Gee has told the university and its urban contemporaries that they are “failing country communities”.
“If their system was so good we wouldn’t have a shortage of doctors in country communities,” he said.
But Head of the University of Sydney’s School of Rural Health, Associate Professor Mark Arnold, has not shifted in his advice that graduates keen to undertake long-term rural placements are hampered by the absence of “job opportunities”.
“Firstly, we need more intern positions available in rural and regional hospitals and we are encouraging the federal government to make this happen.
“Secondly, we need to extend the rural training pipeline, so that after doing their intern training for a year or two, junior doctors can apply for postgraduate specialty training jobs.”
The University of Sydney placed a full-page letter addressed to Mr Gee in Central West newspapers, including the Central Western Daily, in response to his accusation that it was taking an“unnecessarily predatory and negative approach”.
“I think what we’re seeing from Sydney University and the other urban unis is desperation,” Mr Gee said.
“They know that they are losing the argument on merit, so they have resorted to spin and shape-shifting.
“They should stop trying to protect their business model and start focusing on the chronic shortage of doctors in country Australia.
“All the spin in the world can’t hide the fact that vast amounts of money are being pumped into a system which is failing country communities.”
Charles Sturt and La Trobe universities are seeking to establish the school through the transfer of 180 student places from other universities.
Orange, Wagga Wagga and Bendigo would host campuses.
Its Foundation Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Professor John Dwyer, said while he supports a rural training pipeline but said it won’t fix the problem.
“The chances that someone in the city is going to want to come to a postgraduate program in the country and leave the city behind is very unlikely,” he said.