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Learning opportunities

Hospital-based education

Rural Clinical School students rotate through a series of discipline-based hospital placements. Students train at both the North-West Regional Hospital (NWRH) and the Mersey Community Hospital (MCH).


Community-based learning 

Students experience community-based medical education in general practice and a number of primary care settings. Their workplace learning is supported by an extensive team of general practitioners who work across a number of local clinics. Additionally, health professionals from allied health and other disciplines are involved with supervising students in the workplace. RCS students also lead a number of health education programs in the North-West community each year.


Rural experience

Rural and remote placements

While studying at the RCS, fifth-year students undertake five-week rural and remote medical placements in the North-West towns of Smithton, Queenstown and Currie on King Island. Rural and remote placements are well supported by local health professionals and the wider community, enabling students to experience the richness of rural community life while gaining valuable clinical experience.

Emergency Skills

The annual Emergency Skills course immerses fifth-year students in realistic remote medical exercises. This is a large-scale training event comprising of several simulated scenarios that challenge students to assess, diagnose and treat a number of casualties. They also gain experience in facilitating patient retrievals and making medical phone calls in an environment where limited resources are available. Students learn about disaster management, critical response, and the importance of cross-sector partnerships in rural areas as they are guided by the emergency services and local health workers.

Rural Week

Each year, the RCS facilitates two Rural Week programs for first- and second-year University of Tasmania medical students which allow them to experience what living and working rurally is like. Fourth- and fifth-year RCS students lead activities in these programs, accompany their peers to hospitals and health facilities and importantly, provide mentorship and advice about undertaking study in the North-West region.