Development of a common national questionnaire to evaluate student perceptions about the Australian Rural Clinical...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Rural Health Workforce Development

Background:

• Australian medical schools established Rural Clinical Schools with government funding.
• These initiatives facilitate medical student training in diverse rural and remote healthcare environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the national Rural Clinical School program.
• To assess the program's success in delivering quality rural medical education.
• To determine the program's impact on addressing rural and remote medical workforce shortages.

Main Methods:

• Development and agreement on a common questionnaire by all Rural Clinical School directors.
• Utilizing the common questionnaire to gather data on student attitudes and program outcomes.
• Analyzing data at both individual Rural Clinical School and national program levels.

Main Results:

• A common questionnaire was successfully developed and adopted.
• The questionnaire facilitates standardized reporting on student attitudes and program outcomes.
• Data analysis will provide insights into program effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The national Rural Clinical School program aims to provide high-quality rural medical education.
• The program is designed to address the medical workforce shortage in rural and remote areas.
• Data analysis will inform stakeholders on the program's effectiveness in achieving its stated aims.