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A program that is in its eighth year at The University of Western Australia's Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences aims at boosting the numbers of doctors and dentists in WA's rural and remote areas by recruiting students from the regions.

Professor Ian Puddey, Dean of the Faculty, said at an orientation seminar for rural undergraduate Medicine and Dentistry students there was strong evidence to suggest that students from a rural background return to a rural area to work once they are qualified.

One in four medical students and about one in ten dentistry students enrolled this year come from a country background.

"In seven years there has been an increase in our intake of rural medical students from four per cent to 25 per cent of the cohort while in dentistry, ten per cent of the cohort are from rural areas - you are making history," he told the 42 students who were part of the Choose Medicine Rural Student Recruitment Program.

"We provide 16 workshops a year for students in Years 10, 11 and 12 from Broome to Esperance, raising the awareness of medicine and dentistry as achievable careers," Sue Pougnault, the program's student support coordinator, said.

For many of the students, this is the first time they have lived and studied away from home.  However, Professor Marc Tennant, Director of the Centre for Rural and Remote Oral Health, told them, "Over the next six years your fellow students will become your family."

Alice Waldron (17) from Broome said she had wanted to become a doctor since living in Derby as a child and meeting people involved in the hospital.  "I realised how important it is to have really good doctors in the region," she said.

"I would like to specialise in oncology and make a real difference to the lives of cancer sufferers in the Kimberley who now have to drive for two days or pay for an expensive plane trip to come to Perth for treatment."

Emi Fitzgerald (18) from Bridgetown said that watching her stepfather, John Tonai-Moore, train to become an ambulance officer and taking part in a mock traffic accident complete with fake blood had made her determined to become a doctor so she could save lives.

Ferziene Talati (17) from Kalgoorlie said the decision by a friend of her sister to become a dentist and set up a clinic in her home town had prompted her decision.

Media references

Sue Pougnault (Student Support Coordinator)  61 8  9346 7323  /  0419 174 860
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  61 8  6488 5563  /  0432 637 716