RDAA distributes RuralDoc.com regularly to RDA members to keep you updated on the activities, efforts and achievements that RDAA is making on your behalf. Visit www.rdaa.com.au for more information.

RDAA urges caution on full fee degrees: a growing reliance on expensive, full fee medical school places will see many young Australian doctors seeking higher paying medical work in the cities rather than considering rural general practice when they graduate, RDAA warned this week.

“Young doctors graduating with a $200,000 debt will not consider a career in rural medicine but will stay in the city and move into specialist practice” RDAA President, Dr Ross Maxwell, said in a media statement on the issue. “Charging an enormous fee deters rural origin students from studying medicine and deters graduates from seeking a career in the bush.

“It is absolutely essential that more HECS-funded medical school places and scholarships are made available in our universities, particularly for medical students coming from rural communities and for other medical students who are committed to going rural after graduation.

“There is an equally important need for governments to work together to ensure that more medical students are provided with clinical placements in rural and remote areas, as the diversity of rural medical practice and the advanced medical skills it requires is a real attraction to young doctors. With better financial and other supports, more rural hospitals and rural medical practices could be utilised to provide these placements.”

See the full media statement at www.rdaa.com.au (go to Newsroom and Media Releases).

Mental health initiative to be launched next week: the Australian Government’s Better Access to Mental Healthcare initiative will be launched next Monday by the Prime Minister, John Howard MP, prior to its introduction on 1 November 2006 through the MBS. Earlier this week, RDAA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Sant, represented the Association at a closed briefing on the initiative by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing. Details are under embargo until after Monday’s launch, however RDAA will provide further information to members in due course.

RDAA Special Interest Groups to meet: a face-to-face meeting of RDAA’s Rural Specialists Group will be held in Adelaide on Sunday 19 November 2006, from 10am to 4pm. The agenda will include workshopping a paper on the value of specialist services to rural communities. Meanwhile, a face-to-face meeting of RDAA’s Female Doctors Group will be held on Tuesday 28 November 2006, the last day of the ADGP Forum, at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The agenda and other issues will be discussed at a teleconference of the Group on Tuesday 17 October 2006 at 8pm EST. Contact Linda Huf on tel: (02) 6273 9303 or email: office@rdaa.com.au if you would like to participate in any of these meetings.

The final program is now available for the ACRRM Scientific Forum, to be held from 16-19 November 2006 in Adelaide. RDAA and ACRRM’s joint annual conference and AGMs will be held in conjunction with the Forum. To see the final program, go to www.acrrm.org.au/main.asp?NodeID=27780.

New care plan templates available: Rural doctor and Chair of RACGP’s National Rural Faculty, Dr Chris Mitchell, is kindly making available for RDA members a range of updated care plan templates for use with Medical Director software. If you are a member and wish to receive the new templates, please email RDAA’s Media Advisor, Patrick Daley, on email: media@rdaa.com.au.

Free video or DVD on postnatal depression: the Rural Health Education Foundation is offering free on video or DVD a recent program it broadcast on Postnatal Depression. See www.rhef.com.au for more details.

RDAA welcomes feedback from rural doctors on any topic. Email president@rdaa.com.au with your views.

A special welcome to all new RDA members. Existing members are encouraged to talk with fellow docs about your RDA and invite them to join. Please forward membership recruitment suggestions to office@rdaa.com.au.

To update your email address please call (02) 6273 9303 or email: office@rdaa.com.au.

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