QUICK LINKS

Students

Overview

Please note: All elective medical student  placements  for 2010 are filled.

The Department of Health and Ageing funds the Rural Undergraduate Support and Coordination Program (RUSC). In the Northern Territory this program is administered by Northern Territory General Practice Education (NTGPE) as part of its 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 NT RUSC is its strong emphasis on Aboriginal Health and cross-cultural education. Students may not commence a placement without attending NTGPE’s medical and cross-cultural orientation.

Around 200 students per year are placed throughout the NT. NT RUSC operates throughout the Northern Territory and is one program. Due to the vastness of the Territory Orientation and Debrief sessions are convened at Alice Springs and Darwin to allow each centre the ability to address the regional differences in cultural, health access and demographics. All Top End placements start and finish in Darwin, while the Central Australian placements start and finish in Alice Springs.

What are the aims of RUSC?

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

Print this page Print this page