When Ella Sprunt was in Year 12, she remembers her career counsellor bursting into the classroom, Godfather-like, with an offer she couldn’t refuse.
The Melbourne Medical School at the University of Melbourne launched its Rural Pathway option within the Doctor of Medicine program, providing training exclusively in rural Victoria.
Ms Sprunt, a Goulburn Valley local, prescribed this as her envisioned future.
“In Year 12, I loved the idea of pursuing a career in medicine, but I had ruled it out because I thought it was always the dream that would never happen,” she said.
“Then the pathway came up, and suddenly it seemed possible.”
To be eligible for the program, applicants must have a minimum GPA of 5.0, have completed an undergraduate degree in any discipline within the past 10 years, and have lived in a rural or regional area for at least five years continuously or 10 years in total.
Applicants were also not required to take the gruelling five-hour Graduate Medical School Admissions Test.
Fifteen places were available for students who had completed an undergraduate degree through the graduate entry.
However, Ms Sprunt applied through the La Trobe pathway entry, which reserved a further 15 places for graduates of La Trobe University’s Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (Medical) degree in Bendigo or Wodonga.
Upon acceptance into the program, she gained access to the state-of-the-art campus facility at Shepparton, which included high-quality clinical skills simulation facilities.
But it was the people within the Rural Clinical School that truly made the experience unparalleled.
“The dean of the program, the three course facilitators and other staff at the Shepparton campus are like your extended family,” she said.
“There’s a continuity of care — nothing’s ever too much trouble, you have the opportunity to give feedback about how you are doing, and it feels like everyone is so invested in your success.”
Furthermore, the Rural Pathway door opened a plethora of opportunities that exceeded those in urban teaching hospitals.
“There seems to be a stigma around studying regionally or rurally being of less value, but the complete opposite is true,” Ms Sprunt said.
“You see more, hear more, learn more in the country.
“There’s such a contrast with my friends in the city who are also studying medicine yet haven’t experienced as much as I have — I’ve removed stitches, punched biopsies out and been involved in many procedures.”
Currently, in her second year of study, Ms Sprunt is undertaking placement at GV Health in Shepparton.
She frequents the hospital daily and incorporates her experiences and the doctors’ teachings into her studies.
Here, in a smaller, student-friendly rural environment, Ms Sprunt has thrived.
“It’s very self-regulated and active learning,” she said.
“You’re considered part of the team, and when shadowing interns, they’d ask, ‘Okay, what would you do next?’ which has fast-tracked my learning.”
Developing these close working relationships with staff and health service colleagues has contributed to a highly supportive environment for the budding physician.
“We are taught directly by consultants, which wouldn’t happen in, say, a Melbourne hospital,” Ms Sprunt said.
“We spend a week in the ICU, but Dr Raj, a consultant in the ICU at GV Health, really enjoys having students and teaching.
“Beyond the week I was scheduled there, he said, ‘Come back, learn more’.”
As a confessed ‘homebody’, Ms Sprunt reaps the rewards of remaining in the sticks she calls home.
In fact, it was one of the main reasons she applied for the program.
“Staying in Shepparton means I get to see all of my family and friends quite regularly, which is nice to have that support group,” she said.
Though Ms Sprunt has yet to decide which field of medicine is for her, she is adamant about continuing to work in a regional or rural area.
As Ms Sprunt is driven by her community commitment, an unquenchable thirst to continue learning and profound compassion, the people of Shepparton would be fortunate to have her at their hospital bedside.
For more information about the Rural Pathway to the Doctor of Medicine, visit study.unimelb.edu.au/lp/mdhs/md-rural-pathway