The university is not deserting Western Sydney but furthering its footprint west of the Blue Mountains following the Budget announcement of the $95.4M Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network in NSW and Victoria.
“This is a fundamental change in the teaching and supply of rural and regional doctors and will transform rural training schools,” said the federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt.
Western Sydney University and Charles Sturt University will be partners in a medical school based in Orange providing training for 30 students in the Central West as part of the interstate network involving other universities.
Western Sydney University and Charles Sturt University will be partners in a medical school based in Orange providing training for 30 students in the Central West as part of the interstate network involving other universities.
“[The $95.4 M] is a critical investment in the future of Australia’s medical workforce … an important step in addressing the shortage of doctors in our rural and regional communities,” said Professor Andrew Vann, Vice-Chancellor, of Charles Sturt University.
“This partnership will deliver a dedicated JMP [joint medical program] that will extend the footprint of the existing Western Sydney University medical program to regional and rural Australia," he said.
“It makes sense to partner with Charles Sturt University, an institution looking to pursue the same objectives in rural areas,” said Professor Barney Glover, Vice-Chancellor, of Western Sydney University.
Both universities will collaborate to produce the program for the new medical school.
Western Sydney University, which established its state-of-the-art School of Medicine, on its Campbelltown campus, in 2007, established a Rural Clinical School in Bathurst and
Lismore, in 2010, to provide places for students in their fourth and fifth years of training, across a number of disciplines
The university has another presence in Central West, with its The College Lithgow campus which provides an alternative entry pathway to the university for students who may not have qualified for direct entry to a chosen faculty.
