Applications for the first 37 places in a doctor school in Orange have opened.
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Regional and rural students are being encouraged to apply for a spot in the course which is aimed at providing more doctors in regional areas.
The prospect of Orange students being part of the first course next year have been improved with the required ATAR score being four points lower for regional and rural students than city students.
Orange and rural students will need an ATAR of at least 91.5 to be eligible while city students will need at least 95.5. The course is not open to overseas students.
Regional students will also benefit from being able to apply for one of three scholarships of up to $25,000 provided by the Central West Joint Organisation.
Applications for the Charles Sturt University and Western Sydney University joint program in medicine close on September 30.
The five-year course will be run at CSU's Orange campus and the planned Clinical Education Learning Centre at the Bloomfield Medical Centre in the heart of Orange's health precinct.
The Dean of Rural Medicine at CSU Professor Lesley Forster said the program would give students the opportunity to learn in a hands-on environment.
"Having worked as a doctor in regional and rural communities, I know first-hand the truly valuable contribution rural and regional doctors make and the rewarding and fulfilling career they can lead," she said.
Professor Forster's background includes working with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Broken Hill and working in Orange.
The Associate Head of the School of Rural Medicine Professor Damien Limberger said opening the applications was a key step in the program.
"This is an important and celebratory milestone for the program and brings us one step closer to training medical students in country Australia who will go on to practice in our rural and regional communities," he said.
Professor Limberger said students would benefit from state-of-the-art teaching facilities, small classes and personalised teaching.
They will also train alongside CSU's nursing and allied health students. Many lecturers, tutors and supervisors will be rural and regional medical doctors and allied health professionals.
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