Trainee rural doctor says we need to grow our own medics, not draw them from elsewhere

Rather than trying to entice professionals into the area, she thinks we should be developing our own.

And while she welcomes the latest incentives for doctors and nurse practitioners to wipe out their university costs - depending on how long they spend in a rural or remote location, she thinks there are long-term gains to be had from making medicine an easier choice for those already in the bush.

Ms Campbell is a Registered Nurse (RN) who has completed the first year of her five-year Doctor of Medicine course at Charles Sturt University.

In the holidays Ms Campbell works at Bombala Hospital and had just finished a late night shift followed by an early morning one when she spoke with ACM, but had managed "a few hours sleep" in between.

She said hospitals were "struggling" with medical staffing.

"Delegate is running with the bare minimum of staff, we struggle to fill shifts at Bombala but Bega is at crisis point. It's been short-staffed for months. Really it's a problem nationwide, we're struggling across the country. Burke has a weekly bonus to get people to work there.

"Agency nurses are hard to get. There's so much work but not enough people," Ms Campbell said.

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She said there were several issues that need looking at, the cost for rural students, the different experience in rural hospitals and the pathways to medicine.

"We need to stop looking at how we can draw nurses from elsewhere and look at local kids with a passion for the area and a passion for caring, and support them long-term," Ms Campbell said.

In the first instance it's about ensuring schools have the right connections with TAFE so that courses such as Assistant in Nursing (AIN) can be seen as a pathway, rather than stepping straight into university for a three-year RN course, she said.

She believes there could be greater collaboration between schools and TAFE so that students could complete an AIN or start on an Enrolled Nurse (EN) course while at school and then be able to work while undertaking further studies.

She said the process of getting into medicine (interviews and entrance exams) was harder than the degree and schools could do more to support students by linking them up with students who have done it before.

Ms Campbell also thought there should be more scholarships aimed at rural students who want to work in their home towns and for existing rural nurses to upskill.

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"First and foremost we need scholarships because many can't take the financial hit. We also need to support nurses to upskill."

"Rural nurses have a lot more responsibility dumped on them. In the city there are teams of doctors you can call on.

"In Bombala, a lot of the time you're it with maybe a phone call or video conversation.

"We need nurses with a high level of skills because you are faced with a wider range of issues but because of the winding back of services, the chance to learn isn't there," Ms Campbell said.

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