Abstract
Background
Active engagement in research is required to prepare clinicians to practice effective, evidence-based medicine (1). However, rural health research across Australia is limited (due to a lack of research experience in the rural workforce and limited research funding) (2) and the need to increase rural health research capacity is well documented.
Charles Sturt University’s School of Rural Medicine (SRM) commenced as a joint program with Western Sydney University in 2020, established under the Stronger Rural Health Initiative to enable students to stay in rural communities while completing the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program. The program is structured to ensure students are immersed in rural and remote communities, with an extensive rural footprint of nine clinical schools spread from Swan Hill, Victoria to Coffs Harbour, New South Wales.
Medical students must complete a scholarly research project to meet the research requirements of their program. Sourcing and designing relevant scholarly research projects presents a particular challenge in rural and remote regions. The SRM is in a unique position to support both medical students and rural clinicians in building research capacity, while undertaking research focused on the specific health needs of rural and remote communities.
Methods
The SRM Research and Evaluation team undertook a review of student research projects throughout 2023, with supervisor and student feedback sought in November 2023. Using this data, a re-design has been undertaken with implementation and evaluation commencing in January 2024.
Discussion
This presentation will describe the lessons learned from the evaluation of the initial round of scholarly research projects and outline the theoretical constructs and conceptual framework informing an innovative re-design of this component of the curriculum and its expected benefits to students, clinicians, and rural communities.
Active engagement in research is required to prepare clinicians to practice effective, evidence-based medicine (1). However, rural health research across Australia is limited (due to a lack of research experience in the rural workforce and limited research funding) (2) and the need to increase rural health research capacity is well documented.
Charles Sturt University’s School of Rural Medicine (SRM) commenced as a joint program with Western Sydney University in 2020, established under the Stronger Rural Health Initiative to enable students to stay in rural communities while completing the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program. The program is structured to ensure students are immersed in rural and remote communities, with an extensive rural footprint of nine clinical schools spread from Swan Hill, Victoria to Coffs Harbour, New South Wales.
Medical students must complete a scholarly research project to meet the research requirements of their program. Sourcing and designing relevant scholarly research projects presents a particular challenge in rural and remote regions. The SRM is in a unique position to support both medical students and rural clinicians in building research capacity, while undertaking research focused on the specific health needs of rural and remote communities.
Methods
The SRM Research and Evaluation team undertook a review of student research projects throughout 2023, with supervisor and student feedback sought in November 2023. Using this data, a re-design has been undertaken with implementation and evaluation commencing in January 2024.
Discussion
This presentation will describe the lessons learned from the evaluation of the initial round of scholarly research projects and outline the theoretical constructs and conceptual framework informing an innovative re-design of this component of the curriculum and its expected benefits to students, clinicians, and rural communities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 03 Jul 2024 |
| Event | Australian New Zealand Professional Health Educators (ANZAPHE) 2024 Conference: ANZAPHE 2024 - Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, Australia Duration: 01 Jul 2024 → 04 Jul 2024 https://www.anzahpe.org/event-5361000 https://eventstudio.eventsair.com/anzahpe-2024/ (Conference website) https://airdrive.eventsair.com/eventsairaueprod/production-eventstudio-public/b482f1506b8c4a5580db34852df84ed0 (Program) |
Conference
| Conference | Australian New Zealand Professional Health Educators (ANZAPHE) 2024 Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | Professional health education |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Adelaide |
| Period | 01/07/24 → 04/07/24 |
| Other | Join us for ANZAHPE 2024! It is with great excitement that we can announce the ANZAHPE 2024 Conference theme 'Cultivating Innovation' to be held in Adelaide, South Australia. So, start working up your abstracts and block out your calendars from 1st to 4th July, 2024 in preparation for an extravaganza of collegiality, networking opportunities and all things ‘Health Professional Education’. Join us in Adelaide for ANZAHPE 2024 After the huge success of the 2023 in person Conference in the Gold Coast, we welcome you to attend ANZAHPE 2024. We invite all health professional educators, clinical educators, educational researchers, health educational providers, health professional students and those involved in innovative health progression education practice to attend. The official conference website is now live. |
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