OBJECTIVE To date, there are few data on pharmacy-specific placement programs and their impact on students' work after graduation. The present study evaluated an innovative rural pharmacy placement program targeted at influencing students to work and live in rural areas after graduation. A secondary aim of the study was to explore the students' intentions to come back and practice in rural area...

INTRODUCTION There is abundant evidence that rural origin is an influence on rural career choice. Rural origin is widely used to select students to be supported into programs designed to address the rural medical workforce shortage. What is not as clear is how many years of rural upbringing are required to have a maximal effect on rural career choice. Neither is the place of having a sense of r...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Evidence suggests that rural experiences can positively influence students' preferences for rural practice. This study examined changes in students' perceptions toward rural primary care following a required rural clerkship. METHODS Third-year students completed pre- and post-clerkship questionnaire items assessing their beliefs about primary care physicians who prac...

INTRODUCTION The rural health system in India has long been disadvantaged by a shortage of health staff, including doctors. Providing medical students with a rural clinical placement has been suggested as one strategy to overcome this shortage. This study examined the attitudes of and inclination to rural healthcare careers among medical students. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed...

BACKGROUND This article derives lessons from international experience of innovative rural health placements for medical students. It provides pointers for strengthening South African undergraduate rural health programmes in support of the government's rural health, primary healthcare and National Health Insurance strategies. METHODS The article draws on a review of the literature on 39 traini...

INTRODUCTION The establishment of the rural clinical schools funded through the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (now Department of Health) Rural Clinical Training and Support program over a decade ago has been a significant policy initiative in Australian rural health. This article explores the impacts of this policy initiative and presents the wide range of educational innovations...