AFTER a six-year battle, Charles Sturt University's medical school has begun construction with a sod turning ceremony on Thursday.
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Work has been underway on site since August to demolish the previous building before construction work could start on the Academic and Research Hub, which will also house the $22 million School of Rural Medicine.
CSU vice-chancellor Andrew Vann he had been listening to podcasts in recent days while travelling between campuses for graduations and came across one on entrepreneurial start-ups.
"One of the keys [to a start-up] is not giving up," he said.
"We did keep going and it did pay off."
In a regional area, a doctor with a broad range of skills [can] make sure babies can still be delivered in a country town.
- Minister for Regional Services Mark Coulton
It is expected the building will be ready by November next year, in time for the first medical students in February 2021.
Of the 37 Commonwealth supported places in the joint program between CSU and Western Sydney University, five came from WSU and 32 came from other universities.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said securing the places was the first hurdle the medical school had to overcome.
"There were those in the medical profession who were naysayers, there were those in the political cycle who were naysayers," he said.
VIDEO: Watch the demolition work to make way for the new medical school
Professor Vann hinted more work would be needed on securing training placements for the students once they graduated.
Minister for Regional Services Mark Coulton said negotiations were still under way with the states but the key would be the $62 million National Rural Generalist Pathway, which would provide more general training.
"There has been a feeling in the past that medical students needed to specialise, but what we've shown is that in a regional area, a doctor with a broad range of skills [can] make sure babies can still be delivered in a country town, [or] make sure there's someone there with emergency training in case there's a severe accident," he said.
Member for Calare Andrew Gee, who lobbied for the medical school, said the facility would train doctors "in the bush for practice in the bush".
"It's about equality of access to medical services for country patients because country people know all too well what it's like to go without medical services," he said.
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