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Rural Undergraduate Support & Coordination Program:

• Central Australia RUSC

• Top End RUSC

• Scholarships

• NT Map / Placement Profiles

• Workbooks

• Hospital Profiles

• Community Profiles

The Rural Undergraduate Support and Coordination Program (RUSC) is funded by the Department of Health and Ageing. In the Northern Territory this program is administered by NTGPE as part of our commitment to vertical integration in medical education. Most medical students visiting communities in the Northern Territory will be doing so as part of the RUSC program, however other medical students also undertake remote community placements under scholarship programs.

One of the special features of RUSC is its strong emphasis on Aboriginal Health and cross-cultural education. Students do not commence a placement without medical and cross-cultural orientation.

In April 2003 the CA- RUSC program joined with the RUSC program in the Top end to form one service over the whole NT, maintaining the unique styles developed to meet local needs. Around 250 students per year are placed through out the NT.. Both the Top End and Central Australian RUSC programs have common themes and aims, but each program addresses particular aspects of health specific to their region.

Refer to the Top End RUSC and Central Australian RUSC sections for more detail.

Accommodation:

In remote Aboriginal communities suitable accommodation is at a premium. In 1999, the Commonwealth government through the Department of Health and Ageing granted funding to GPERU to build secure, fully equipped, one-bedroom houses in eight remote Aboriginal communities across the Top End. In Central Australia this program was managed by the NT Remote Health Workforce Agency. With the increased housing available, many more students have been placed in the years since completion. Common feedback from the students has been -

“it was the nicest student accommodation I’ve ever had!”

Accommodation is organised for the students during their interim stay in Darwin and Alice Springs and at their placement location.
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Student at Danila Dilba Aboriginal Medical Service - Darwin

Travel:

The RUSC Coordinator arranges all aspects of the students’ placements, including travel, accommodation and gaining ‘Entry Onto Aboriginal Land Permits’. All Top End placements commence and finish in Darwin, while the Central Australian placements start and finish in Alice Springs.

Refer to the Top End RUSC Program and Central Australian RUSC Program sections for more detail, as these aspects may differ slightly between programs.

What does RUSC involve?

RUSC 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 an evaluation session at the conclusion of the placement.

All students attend an orientation 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 an orientation on rural and public health issues, tropical medicine and diseases specific to the NT region. 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 RUSC 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.

Sunset at Nightcliff - Darwin

The weekly teleconferences with RUSC educators give students an opportunity for discussion of cases and issues they are dealing with during their placement. Each week (Wednesday 2.30pm - 3.30pm) 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 RUSC 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.

There is a student workbook which 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.

Assessment of the program includes appraisal of the student workbooks, GP supervisor assessment and Aboriginal Cultural Educator’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. This is also an opportunity for the student to offer feedback in relation to various aspects of the RUSC program.

What are the aims of RUSC?

1. To provide an appreciation of rural general practice in the Northern Territory (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.

2. To provide an appreciation of the influence of rurality on access to and provision of primary care services in the NT.

3. To provide an understanding of cross-cultural awareness issues, in particular those concerning Aboriginal people in the NT.

4. To provide an understanding of the nature, breadth and determinants of Aboriginal health issues in the NT.

5. To promote working in remote settings as a career option for students, and

6. In the long term, to increase the recruiting of appropriately trained general practitioners in remote settings.