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A number of medical students from The University of Western Australia are reconsidering their career paths after being introduced to the world of GP obstetrics at a recent workshop in Busselton.

The GP obstetrics skills workshop, held on Saturday 9 March, was part of the national Go Rural campaign designed to attract more Australian-trained doctors to careers in the diverse and stimulating field of rural medicine.

The students were put through their paces by a team of local GP obstetricians from the South-West, led by Dr Sarah Moore, who coordinates the Rural Clinical School of Western Australia in Busselton.  The school is a collaboration between UWA and Notre Dame University.

Dr Moore, who is expecting her second child in May, had some of her own patients act as volunteers at the ultrasound skills station.  Other sessions dealt with pelvic examination and forceps delivery.

Dr Moore said the event had opened the students' eyes, helping them see that a career in rural GP obstetrics could be both fun and rewarding.

"The feedback was very, very positive," Dr Moore said.  "The students I had afterwards all said ‘None of us thought we were going to be GP obstetricians but after that workshop we all thought it would be really fun.'

"It was an opportunity for them to understand that without GP obstetricians women have to go to the cities to have their babies - that's not good for communities and it's not good for mums and babies.  We were really promoting the idea that if you can keep healthy mums and babies in the country, low risk patients, then it's a better outcome for the patients and the community in general."

The event was hosted by Rural Health West, a not-for-profit agency which attracts and supports doctors to work in country WA.

"General practitioners who have an obstetrics qualification are very sought after in country areas," said Kelli Porter, Rural Health West's Workforce Development Manager.  "We are also seeing an increase in interest from current medical students and graduates, in relation to rural medicine, and how they can gain experience in a rural area."

Go Rural is a federally funded campaign run through the national network of state and territory Rural Workforce Agencies in partnership with their peak body, Rural Health Workforce Australia .

Media references

Dr Sarah Moore (Rural Clinical School of Western Australia)  (+61 8)  9752 6400
Tony Wells (Rural Health Workforce Australia)  (+61 3)  9860 4706  /  (+61 4) 17 627 916
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783