The University of Notre Dame Australia is delighted to receive Federal Government support for a new Broome-based medical school, which will provide a much-needed boost to medical services and doctor numbers in the Kimberley region.
The Kimberley Centre for Remote Medical Training (KCRMT) will be Western Australia’s first fully rurally based medical school, and one of the most remote full medical programs in the world.
It will provide up to 20 students each year with the opportunity to complete all of their medical training on country, close to home and family, and other forms of pastoral support.
The project has been made possible thanks to the allocation of 10 new medical Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) per year to the University along with almost 10 million dollars in funding from the Federal Government, which will enable the construction of teaching facilities and student accommodation on Notre Dame’s existing Broome campus.
The University will match the Government’s allocation of CSPs to double the number of places on offer to 20 each year.
Vice Chancellor Professor Francis Campbell said he expected demand for places in the four-year postgraduate Doctor of Medicine program to be very strong, but said priority would be given to Aboriginal people, those who were already living in the region, and other groups under-represented in the medical profession.
“Attracting and retaining health care professionals in remote parts of Australia is extremely challenging,” Professor Campbell said.
“This initiative aims to help reduce the workforce shortage in the Kimberley by developing graduates that are trained in the region to equip them with complex skills required to meet the diverse medical and healthcare needs of local communities is so important.
“The University thanks the Federal Government for its support for this important project. We hope to welcome our first group of medical students onto our Broome campus in 2025.”
The new medical school has strong backing from the Kimberley community which sees local medical training as part of the answer to the doctor shortage issue facing regional Western Australia.
Organisations that have backed the initiative include the Western Australian Government, the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS), the Broome Chamber of Commerce, and the WA Country Health Service.
KAMS Chief Executive Officer Vicki O’Donnell described the new medical school as “groundbreaking”, saying it would help to “future proof” the region’s medical workforce.
“KAMS has been involved in the Rural Clinical School program and GP Training for many years and we look forward to supporting this “On Country” delivery and increasing the attraction of rural and remote Doctors to the Kimberley,” Mrs O’Donnell said.