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RURAL ATTACHMENTS FOR STUDENTS IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS: ARE THEY WORTHWHILE?
Author(s) -
McAllister Lindy,
McEwen Ellen,
Williams Vicki,
Frost Natasha
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1584.1998.tb00312.x
Subject(s) - graduation (instrument) , perception , rural health , medical education , rural area , psychology , work (physics) , value (mathematics) , nursing , medicine , engineering , mechanical engineering , pathology , neuroscience , machine learning , computer science
In the period 1991–96, 156 undergraduates from 14 health disciplines at the University of Sydney completed rural attachments in rural and remote areas of Australia as part of the Rural Careers Project. On return from their attachment, students were encouraged to write a brief report of their experiences. Ninety‐two available reports were analysed as one means of assessing the success of the attachments with respect to informing students about rural health issues and stimulating their interest in rural careers after graduation. A content analysis of the students' written comments about their perceptions and experiences was completed. Students were extremely positive about the value of the attachments and expressed more positive than negative comments regarding their perceptions of rural life and work. The results show that rural attachments are indeed worthwhile learning opportunities.