Forbes Medical Centre has welcomed three new medical students to their practice. Bradley Spackman, Laura Sunderland and Charne Quayle started their 12-month placement last Monday. The third-year medical students from the University of Wollongong (UOW) are here as part of a five-year partnership between the UOW and the Forbes Medical Centre.
“This is the fourth year of our agreement with UOW. Due to the success of our teaching program and the positive feedback from students
placed at our practice, we now have three students undertaking their placement with us each year,” said Dr Neale Somes. Brad and Laura were drawn to medicine by a desire to combine their interests in science and helping others, and are excited to be here.
“Past practical placements have been in acute settings, where we only tend to see patients once. It will be great to get to know patients over the next 12 months as we work with their regular doctors,” said Laura. During their placement in Forbes the students will spend time learning about general practice and working in the emergency department at the Forbes Hospital. They will also undertake placements in the community and with allied health professionals and visiting specialists.
“In the city medicine can be very specialised but here the students are exposed to general medicine, from the cradle to the grave, from obstetrics to palliative care and everything in between,” said Dr Somes. Dr Somes is hopeful that after spending a year in Forbes, the UOW students will be more likely to return to the country to work. “I’m optimistic that exposing students to the life of a rural generalist means they will be more likely to come back to the country to practice when they have completed their training,” he said.