Published on Wednesday, 11 March 2020 at 2:37:36 PM
A group of medical students have arrived in Narrogin on Tuesday morning as part of this year’s Wheatbelt Medical School Immersion Program.
More than 170 students from the University of Notre Dame and Curtin University have travelled to Wheatbelt towns as part of the program, with 28 of those students staying in Narrogin until Friday with local billet families.
The immersion program is designed to provide the students with first-hand experiences of medicine in a rural community, and by extension encourage the students to consider a rural medical career.
The Shire of Narrogin hosted a welcome morning tea for the students on Tuesday 10 March at the Shire of Narrogin’s Council Chambers, with an official Welcome to Country by local Noongar man, Ross Storey.
Deputy Shire President Tim Wiese in his official welcome highlighted the fantastic and rewarding elements of living in a country town. He encouraged the students to embrace community life this week adding, “We hope that this experience positively influences you to choose a rural career”.
Each student was gifted a Shire of Narrogin tote and a ten dollar Narrogin dollars voucher to encourage them to shop local and put money back in to the community during their visit.
Whilst in town, the students will tour Narrogin hospital and visit local GP’s in order for them to gain a better understanding of the experiences of rural patients. They will also host a “Teddy-Bear Clinic” at local primary schools which is about getting kids used to talking to doctors and their treatments.
The students will also get a chance to visit local community groups and tour local attractions, Dryandra Woodlands and Foxes Lair, to give them a better taste for what life would be like if they decided to move to Narrogin or rural location in their future.
The Wheat belt Medical School Immersion Program is a partnership between the University of Notre Dame, Curtin University, Rural Health West, WA Primary Alliance and the Wheatbelt East Regional Organisation of Councils as part of a program to address a state-wide regional doctor shortage.
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