The School of Rural Health's new building at Dubbo to attract more regional students

"It's really here to enable rural people to study medicine so they don't have to move to Sydney anymore. We're offering the whole program here now, since the start of this year," school manager Kim O'Connor told Daily Liberal.

The initiative came from $10 million in collaborative funding from the Commonwealth Government, the philanthropic Lonergan Foundation and the University of Sydney.

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The School of Rural Health's new building hosts the latest medical education technology and includes learning studios, an anatomy teaching lab with a Sectra virtual dissection table and the Lonergan Foundation Simulation Suite featuring six medical simulation training rooms.

The anatomy lab will also be freely accessible during working hours with a large interactive screen that enables examination of the human body in minute detail with the help of 3D images.

"Students can use what they learnt here to have valuable time with the cadavers," medical student Jorja Armstrong said.

Every week, students will be able to practice clinical skills in simulation rooms equipped with life-like adults, babies, and pregnant patients, capable of movements like breathing, birthing, and seizures as well as having mock bodily fluids.

"Doing the simulations is really valuable in having a real life situation where you treat it like it's real and the doctors are not there but just supervising. You get confidence being in a safe space and not being able to harm anyone," medical student Tracey Tindall said.

The building and name 'Marra-dha Ngurang' was negotiated with the local Wiradjuri community and elders. Di McNaboe, a Wiradjuri language expert, came up with the name.

"We're quite focused on getting more Indigenous people studying medicine as well," Ms O'Connor said.

"Two-thirds of our offers have been made to people from this district, it's very exciting."

Dignitaries who attended the event included University of Sydney vice-chancellor and president professor Mark Scott AO, chief executive of the Western NSW Local Health District Mark Spittal, mayor Mathew Dickerson and chief medical officer at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Randall Greenberg.

"This new purpose-built facility is as good as anything you'll see anywhere in Australian education," Mr Scott said.

"Students who come here are very committed to practicing medicine in regional and rural areas and are that much more likely to work in the regions.

"We're very excited that the best of a Sydney university education is available here in Dubbo for students studying medicine."

Narromine artist Cara shields is responsible for the Wiradjuri artwork that features all around the new building. During sunny afternoons when the sunlight falls directly, the artwork is projected into the hallways of the building.

Ms Shields' family members including mother and stepmother Lynne Bass and Judy Ryan attended the opening ceremony.

"It's marvellous, very very proud of Cara for how far she's come," Ms Ryan said.

"She's stayed connected to her culture that way... and the way they've incorporated it into the architecture of the building is just fabulous," Ms Bass said.

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