YOUNG medical students across Australia are being urged to register for the popular John Flynn Placement Program (JFPP).
The program, which is managed by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, provides medical students with the opportunity to spend time in a rural or remote community under the guidance of an experienced practitioner.
The program has been funded by the Department of Health (DoH) since 1997 and is responsible for encouraging 3,057 future rural generalists to live and work in the parts of Australia where they are most needed.
Twenty-three-year-old Tom Scodellaro from Melbourne is one student who joined the program in 2013, and spent several weeks last year on placement in Townsville, working with the Aboriginal and Islander Health Service.
Tom said the experience has been invaluable to his professional and personal development, with local doctors overseeing student placements, and acting as mentors.
"The idea is you keep going back to the same community, and build ties and a network, so when you finish (your education), it might be somewhere you want to go back to ... and you end up with a really positive experience.''
Associate Professor Lucie Walters, President of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, said she is proud to be part of the team responsible for administering the John Flynn Placement Program on behalf of Government.
“Every year we receive over a thousand applications and 300 of Australia’s best young medical students are accepted into the program,” she said.
“Last year we had a record number of 1,700 plus young medical students register which bodes really well for rural and remote medicine.
“We are encouraging medical students to register as soon as possible as successful applicants can preference their locations and we have had people placed in areas right across Australia from the Australian Antarctic Division, to the Kimberly, Pilbara and Christmas Island.”
Medical students must register their interest at www.acrrm.org.au by March 11, 2015. Students who register by this date will then be invited to submit their online application on March 14, 2015. Only registered students will be eligible to apply. Program participants will be entitled to travel to and from their placement, accommodation and an allowance of up to $500 per week.
