Experiences of students entering medical programs through rural pathways: a multi-institutional longitudinal study

Project Timeline: 2021-2022

Globally, medical students from rural areas are targeted for selection to medical school to address persistent inequities in accessing medical education and medical services in these regions. Despite decades of initiatives, these inequities persist. Missing is qualitative research to better understand the pathways through which rural students successfully become medical students and graduates, and the barriers they experience. In this project the REC are members of the expert panel.

This study examines the experiences of medical students entering through rural pathways using semi-structured interviews and focus groups in four Australian medical schools. Reflexive thematic analysis using three planes (individual, interpersonal, community) will identify factors influencing professional identity formation of students entering from rural backgrounds.

Publications

• Roberts, P., Cosgrave, C., Gillespie, J., Malatzky, C., Hyde, S., Hu, W. C., ... & Downes, N. (2021). ‘Re‐placing’ professional practice. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 29(2), 301-305.
• Downes, N., Roberts, P., & Dean, J. (2021). Researching the schoolhouse: Rethinking research on the staffing of rural, remote and isolated schools in Australia (2000-2019). Available from: https://researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/publications/researching-the-schoolhouse-rethinking-research-on-the-staffing-o
• NSW Department of Education with Societel Consulting. (2021). A Review of rural and remote incentives in NSW public schools’.
• Downes, N., & Roberts, P. (2018). Revisiting the schoolhouse: A literature review on staffing rural, remote and isolated schools in Australia 2004-2016. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 28(1), 31-54.
• Roberts, P., & Downes, N. (2020). The Challenges of Staffing Schools in a Cosmopolitan Nation: Rethinking the recruitment and retention of teachers in Australia through a spatial lens. In T. Ovenden-Hope, & R. Passy (Eds.). Exploring Teacher Recruitment and Retention (pp. 221-230). Routledge.
• Roberts, P. & Downes, N. (2019). The Rural Difference Trope: Leader Perceptions on Rural, Regional and Remote Schooling Difference. Leading & Managing, 25(2), pp. 51-65.
• Downes, N & Roberts, P. (2018). Revisiting the schoolhouse: A literature review on staffing rural, remote and isolated schools in Australia 2004-2016. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 28(1). pp.31-54.
• Roberts, P. (2007). Shaping Future Staffing Systems to Support Students in Rural, Remote and Isolated Communities. Australian College of Educators Online. Refereed Article 46.
• Roberts, P. (2005). Staffing an Empty Schoolhouse: Attracting and retaining teachers in rural, remote and isolated communities. Sydney, NSW. New South Wales Teachers Federation. ISBN 1875699368.

Related Projects

• Workforce motivations and incentives for rural professionals
• Researching the professions
• Rural placements for preservice teachers and health practitioners
• Rural professional practice
• Exploring Rural Knowledges
• The sociocultural experiences of rural students at university
• Higher education career advice for low SES and rural students