First-year medical students get a taste of country life

Twenty-seven medical students from Notre Dame University spent last week in Narrogin as part of the Rural Clinical School of WA immersion program. The program places first-year students with families in regional areas so that they can experience country life and medical practice. It is hoped that the experience will encourage the students to take up positions in remote and rural WA upon the completion of their degree. “Notre Dame and Curtin have taken on this Wheatbelt immersion program to try to get students motivated to consider rural practice very early in their career,” Narrogin doctor Peter Smith said. “We hope that in their third year of the four-year course they come back to the rural clinical school, for a lot of these young people, many haven’t left urban areas, it’s a real eye-opener.” First year Notre Dame medical student Will Perera found his Wheatbelt experience enjoyable and beneficial. “Part of Notre Dame’s mission is to really promote to us the idea that working rurally is a good, tangible and worthwhile direction we can take,” he said. Mr Perera has spent the week in Narrogin staying with the Shepherd family. “We’re very lucky, there’s nice fresh air, a beautiful view and the Shepherds very welcoming,” Mr Perera said. “I’ve been really gaining an appreciation for everything that I already knew was great about rural towns, that sense of community, meeting people that care about the community. “You see how important it is for us as a State to push resources towards the rural towns, because you can’t just live on positivity, you need people, doctors and nurses, to come to support these communities.” Doctor Rachel Hall, in partnership with Notre Dame and the RCS, travelled down from Broome to work with the first-year students. “I’ve been coming down with the students since about 2018, Narrogin is a great little spot,” she said. “For some of them this Wheatbelt trip is their first rural experience. “Some students grew up in the country, and we’re getting more country students and that’s important because statistics show that students who grew up in the country are more likely to return to the country to practise.”