Source: Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Inc
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Students
The number and proportion of commencing medical students reporting that they are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent have risen over the years from 44 or 1.3% of students in 2008, to 65 or 1.7% in 2015 (Table 2.11).
Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students
3,389
3,404
3,418
3,690
3,616
3,593
3,656
3,712
Total
3,433
3,442
3,468
3,770
3,686
3,668
3,737
3,777
Proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students (%)
1.3
1.1
1.4
2.1
1.9
2.0
2.2
1.7
Source: Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Inc
Data from Medical Deans shows that there have been significant increases in the overall number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people(s) studying medicine.
In 2015, there was a total of 265 medical students studying in Australian universities who reported being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent (Table 2.12), an increase of 167.7% over the nine years from 2006.
Table 2.12: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander medical students studying in Australian universities, 2006-2015
Student type
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students
99
125
129
137
161
218
226
261
275
265
Annual change (%)
26.3
3.2
6.2
17.5
35.4
3.7
15.5
5.4
-3.6
Source: Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Inc
Rural Exposure
Exposure to rural and remote settings, whether through living, schooling and/or undertaking medical studies or training there, is shown to have a positive impact on the likelihood of medical professionals practising in rural and remote areas.
The Rural Clinical Training and Support (RCTS) program provides funding to participating universities for the establishment and support of medical student training in rural areas, and supports 17 rural clinical schools nationally. The RCTS program aims to improve the range of rural health care services and strengthen the health workforce in rural communities across Australia.
Participating Australian medical schools are required to meet a range of objectives set out in the program parameters, including:
providing at least 4 weeks rural training for all medical students;
having at least 25% of their medical students undertake at least one year of clinical training in a rural area;
providing high-quality training of medical students in rural and remote areas;
maintaining and enhancing measures to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical student graduates; and
facilitating an increase in rural health and workforce research, rural health advocacy and a raised awareness of rural and remote health issues.
The RCTS is a component initiative of the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program, which also supports 11 University Departments of Rural Health, six dental schools that offer rural dental placements and the John Flynn Placement Program.
Data on students who have a rural background are collected by medical schools.
In 2015, 832 or 25.9% of commencing domestic students reported that they had lived in a rural or remote area prior to commencing their medical studies (Table 2.13). The proportion of domestic students with a rural background was roughly one quarter in each state and territory.
Table 2.13: Commencing domestic students with a rural background by state/territory, 2015
UG - undergraduate PG - postgraduate MD – Doctor of Medicine
Rural background is based on residency for at least five years from the commencement of primary school in an area classified as RA2 to RA5 under the Australian Standard Geographical Classification - Remoteness Areas (ASGC-RA) system.
University of Western Sydney is not subject to the RCTS rural origin target.
University of Melbourne achieved a rural origin proportion of 22.0% against the RCTS program criteria, see footnote (h) below.
Monash University achieved a rural origin proportion of 28.7% across their entire cohort.
Bond and Griffith Universities do not participate in the Commonwealth RCTS program.
Bond University does not collect data on rurality.
University of Notre Dame Fremantle achieved a rural origin proportion of 24.7% against the RCTS program criteria, see footnote (h) below.
The Rural Clinical Training and Support (RCTS) program requires that a number of Australian medical students equal to at least 25% of the University's medical student CSP allocation must come from a rural background.
Source: Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Inc
