Medical students enrolled in the University of Tasmania's Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) can complete the fourth and fifth years of their study at the Rural Clinical School. We accept approximately 60 future doctors each year who have an interest in rural health, and working and living in smaller communities.
RCS students experience rural placements and are provided with a higher level of hands-on learning opportunities alongside patients and clinicians. They also gain professional development while leading community engagement activities in schools and at local events. Our students are well-equipped to work in rural, remote or metropolitan hospitals as interns after completing their studies, and each year, our graduates are extremely successful in gaining internships at their hospitals of choice, including the nearby North-West Regional Hospital.
Overview of the Rural Clinical School medical education program
The RCS undergraduate curriculum is delivered across the North-West, with a particular focus on rural medicine, emergency care and integrated primary care.
The undergraduate curriculum and outcomes are the same for every student across all University of Tasmania clinical schools, however each site delivers the program according to local resources.
Students spend time at the North-West Regional Hospital, Mersey Community Hospital in Latrobe and visit general practices across the Coast. Final-year students experience rural medical placements in the communities of Smithton, Queenstown and on King Island.
