Northern Territory General Practice Education Ltd
(NTGPE)
General Practice Education In the Northern Territory

(Formerly GPERU, General Practice Education Research Unit)

Medical School in the Bush / Rural Undergraduate Placement Program

What is RUPP?

Most medical students visiting Top End communities will be doing so as part of RUPP, the Rural Undergraduate Placement Program. RUPP was developed in 1995 as part of the General Practice Rural Incentives Program, with the aim of enabling medical students to undertake rural general practice attachments and electives in the Top End of the Northern Territory. It is funded by the Commonwealth government and administered by  GPERU, located in Block 4 at Royal Darwin Hospital.

One of the special features of RUPP is its strong emphasis on Aboriginal Health, involving the use of Aboriginal cultural educators and Binan Goonj, a cross-cultural awareness education package. RUPP also has a specific focus on rural aspects of health care provision and tropical medicine. The first RUPP students, 6^th year students from Flinders University, completed their placements in June 1995. Since that time, many students have experienced Top End rural general practice through the program, hailing from ten Australian universities and some overseas institutions.

Students may also be placed in communities on the John Flynn Scholarship program. This national scheme, which began in 1997, was established to allow medical students the opportunity to take up vacation placements in rural communities and in particular to return to the placement each year for four consecutive years. Such a commitment enables the student to foster a long term relationship with the community. Placement of John Flynn scholars are coordinated with other RUPP students by the GPERU.

You may also see the name Medical School in the Bush associated with RUPP. MSITB is an innovative and exciting program designed to increase the availability of accommodation for medical students in rural communities in the Top End. It is envisaged that this name will supersede RUPP as the title for the undergraduate program in the Top End in the future.  
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What does the program involve?

RUPP uses elements of distance education to support each student's clinical experience. A student workbook and the weekly teleconferences form the basis of this support and are complemented by a pre-reading package, an orientation program and a evaluation session at the conclusion of the placement.

All students attend an orientation morning in Darwin prior to their rural placement. This includes a cultural orientation, which aims to give students an introduction to Aboriginal culture, history and health, as well as talks on tropical medicine, rural and public health issues. Students may be taken out bush with Aboriginal educators to learn about the importance of Aboriginal land and culture, kinship, bush-tucker, bush medicines and issues of access to health services.

The core component of the RUPP Education program is the rural placement under general practitioner supervision, giving the student an opportunity to work in close contact with the GP, as well as Aboriginal health workers and rural nurses.

The weekly teleconferences with RUPP educators give students an opportunity for discussion of cases and issues they are dealing with during their placement. Each week (Wednesday afternoon 3.30 - 4.30 PM) students will be expected to present cases illustrating important aspects of rural health. These teleconferences also provide an opportunity for students to touch base with their colleagues and with RUPP educators, allowing interim debriefing of issues that may have arisen during the placement. They may provide considerable support and guidance to students facing unique challenges in their new environment out bush.

The student workbook aims to replace the traditional tutorial method of teaching with which students are more familiar. The workbook activities require students to reflect on the readings and the cases that they will see. GP supervisors can act as valuable resources for students completing these activities and put their experience into perspective. Other resources may include Aboriginal health workers, other health staff and people living in your community.

At the end of the placement students will meet back in Darwin to discuss their experience and offer feedback on the course. Assessment of the program includes appraisal of the student logbooks, GP supervisor assessment and Aboriginal Cultural Tutor’s assessment. Final student assessment incorporates parent university requirements and can therefore be based on teleconference case presentations, logbook activities, GP supervisor assessment and end of attachment interview.  
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  What are the aims of MSITB/RUPP?

• To provide an appreciation of rural general practice in the NT by increasing access of medical students to general practitioners in remote settings, and to improve knowledge of common medical conditions and skills required for rural practice
• To provide an appreciation of the influence of rurality on access to and provision of primary care services in the NT
• To provide an understanding of cross-cultural awareness issues, in particular those concerning Aboriginal people in the NT
• To provide an understanding of the nature, breadth and determinants of Aboriginal health issues in the NT
• To promote working in remote settings as a career option for students, and
• In the long term, to increase the recruiting of appropriately trained general practitioners in remote settings

Annual Reports

You can have a look at annual reports of our program.

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