Welcome to the Rural Clinical School (RCS) of the University of Tasmania (UTAS).
The RCS is one of 11 centres around Australia that have been developed to facilitate the recruitment, training and retaining of health professionals to live and work in rural and remote Australia. Based in the North West Tasmania, the RCS has its primary base at the North West regional Hospital in Burnie, and a satelite facility at the Mersey community Hospital in Latrobe.
While the RCS is based in Burnie, on Tasmania's beautiful North West coast, our students benefit from working across the whole North West region in both acute services and primary care settings. They can also take advantage of the region's wonderful lifestyle. We support a range of rural General Practice placements along the North West Coast at Burnie, Devonport, Ulverstone and Latrobe as well as three remote General Practice placements on King Island, Smithton and Queenstown. We are proud to note that the Latrobe Family Medical Practice was recently awarded the National General Practice of the Year Award 2011 by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
The University of Tasmania's RCS is building a strong national and international reputation for excellence in rural medical education. The high level commitment and enthusiasm of our academic team and the excellent relationships we have with regional health and community partners provides a rich clinical programme for our students. The RCS has purpose built, state of the art teaching facilities, overlooking Bass Strait.
We encourage prospective medical students to read about the RCS undergraduate rural medical program which offers excellent clinical learning opportunities and experiences for Years 4 and 5 students delivered within the framework of the University's MBBS curriculum.
Medical education at the RCS incorporates a number of innovative features to benefit students' clinical learning. The program actively promotes shared learning opportunities among peers and with a variety of health professionals and students benefit from a well-equipped Simulated Learning Environments (SLE's).
In addition to the normal clinical attachments, it is the emergency medicine, women’s and children’s and integrated primary care focus that distinguishes the undergraduate rural medical program, as these areas are considered fundamental to rural medical practice.
Clinical teaching is provided in Group Learning Weeks. These concentrate case based learning (CBL), tutorials and formal learning into particular weeks of each clinical attachment. This allows students more uninterrupted clinical time in the remaining weeks.
The RCS will be aiming to maintain the distinctive features of the rural medical undergraduate program - good student to patient ratios, enhanced opportunities for small group teaching and more hands-on experience. Remote medical practice is an integral part of the fifth year program.
We have a strong student support program (PDF 129KB) which includes high-quality subsidised student accommodation travel subsidies and some elective bursaries.
The RCS welcomes enquiries and visits from undergraduate students with an interest in future rural and remote medical practice and from students wishing to benefit from the unique clinical training available in rural North West Tasmania.
Please contact Therese Evans, Manager, Community Engagement (therese.evans@utas.edu.au) for assistance with transport, accommodation and a visitor's program.
Associate Professors Lizzi Shires and Debbie Wilson
Co Directors Rural Clinical School