Conference focuses on rural health needs
Training more medical staff in regional Australia could help fill workforce gaps, delegates have heard at an event in Murray Bridge.
How can we get more medical staff training and working in rural areas?
Those questions were at the heart of a rural health conference held in Murray Bridge last week.
More than 100 health professionals, researchers and educators gathered at the Bridgeport Hotel for the Rural Health International Place-Based Education and Research Conference, hosted by the Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network (LHN).
Local practitioners and students shared their experiences with guests from around Australia and the world.
LHN CEO Wayne Champion said everyone in the industry had a role to play in making rural medicine an attractive career option.
“Our region has made big strides in providing high quality opportunities to students, and I was pleased we were able to share our experiences,” he said.
“I hope those who attended have been inspired to come up with innovative ways to train medical students in their regions.”
As well as hearing from prominent industry speakers like Rural Health Commissioner Jenny May AM, Regional Education Commissioner Fiona Nash and Professor Sonia Kumar, from St Mary’s University in the United Kingdom, conference delegates took a cruise on the River Murray and learned about Ngarrindjeri basket weaving.
State Health Minister Chris Picton was in town on Wednesday to open the event.
