Rural Clinical School (RCS)

ANU Rural Clinical School

Since its inception, the ANU Medical school has had a strong commitment to the surrounding rural region, and has established an integrated rural training program in south-east New South Wales. The ANU Rural Clinical School endeavours to enhance the health of this region through the provision of an integrated rural educational program for students from Years 1-4.

This program requires all students to spend a minimum of eight weeks in a structured residential rural placement. This includes one week in the first year of study, one week in the second year and a six-week placement in the third year. Up to 25% of the students admitted to the ANU Medical School each year will enter a rural stream that provides rural education experiences in south-eastern New South Wales throughout the four-year course. The focal point of these experiences is in the third year of the course when students spend the entire year attached to a general practice in a rural town. Throughout the year students follow an integrated, patient based, longitudinal study program, combining medicine, surgery and community & child health. While students will be attached to specific general practices, and they will also work under supervision at the local hospitals. Local academic mentors will closely monitor the students to ensure they have had clinical exposure to the important cases/problems identified by the relevant disciplines, and that all coursework requirements are met.

Admission to the Rural Stream

Of the students who enter the Rural Stream, approximately half will be selected at the time of interview. Selection will be based on a desire to be in this stream and to study in Goulburn, Young, Cooma, Eurobodalla (Bateman’s Bay/Moruya) or Bega for the entirety of Year 3. To be eligible for the Rural Stream an applicant must select the Medical School at the ANU as their first preference and must indicate their interest in the Rural Stream when filing their application for graduate medical school with ACER. In addition, an autobiographical statement that includes a reason as to why the applicant should be selected into the Rural Stream must be supplied with the application to ACER. Applicants will be considered on the basis of their GPA, GAMSAT score, autobiographical statement and interview, the latter containing questions concerning rural life.