In the period 1991-96, 156 undergraduates from 14 health disciplines at the University of Sydney completed rural attachments in rural and remote areas of Australia as part of the Rural Careers Project. On return from their attachment, students were encouraged to write a brief report of their experiences. Ninety-two available reports were analysed as one means of assessing the success of the attachments with respect to informing students about rural health issues and stimulating their interest in rural careers after graduation. A content analysis of the students' written comments about their perceptions and experiences was completed. Students were extremely positive about the value of the attachments and expressed more positive than negative comments regarding their perceptions of rural life and work. The results show that rural attachments are indeed worthwhile learning opportunities.
This paper describes the nursing involvement in the University of Sydney Rural Careers Project. Funded by the Rural Health Support Education and Training (RHSET) programme, the project was initiated to stimulate the awareness of undergraduate healthcare students to the professional opportunities within the rural setting. During 2 years of operation meetings have been convened for interested students to learn about working and living conditions in a rural community. Speakers from a variety of healthcare settings have provided a wide range of insights into rural working and social conditions. Scholarships are offered to cover travel and accommodation costs for students to attend placements in rural areas and annual excursions to rural communities provide students with experience of rural life and health-care practice. Although the limitations of such activities are acknowledged, it is believed that students who have several positive experiences of rural professional life may be more likely to try a longer period after graduation.
This article describes the activities of the University of Sydney Rural Careers Project, which was established to increase the opportunities for undergraduate students in the health professions to learn more about what it is like to live and work within a rural community. After 18 months of operation, the project has attracted wide support among students and staff, and could be seen as a model worth replicating in other universities. Stimulating interest in rural practice may increase the numbers of health professionals interested in entering rural careers after graduation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.