Creating new medical schools in new universities won't cure doctor shortages

Dr Nelson has complained that medical schools need to be populated by students other than those from the North Shore or the Eastern Suburbs. But how can a medical school change the geography of its intake? Assuming selection remains based on merit and an interview, geography is not a factor that can be weighed. Furthermore, the entire intake of Notre Dame will be full-fee paying students. This is not likely to widen the net of opportunity, let alone solve the rural health crisis.

A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia this year gave three major factors most likely to contribute to a doctor practising in a rural area. They were that the doctor came from a rural area, had a spouse from a rural area or had post-graduate experience working in a rural hospital. The location of the medical school was not a factor.

Another consideration with Notre Dame is that it is a Catholic university. There is no course like medicine to test the ethical and moral dilemmas of our time. What will the university teach on the myriad of controversial topics like abortion, homosexuality and AIDS, stem cells and genetic engineering?  Will it be science or theology?

The move is consistent with the PM’s preference for value-based education and suggests the Notre Dame facility is based in ideology, not practicality.

The major universities already have significant programs in regional areas. The doctor shortage will be much better served with new places in the established medical schools, perhaps with a preference for students from rural areas, rather than expensive new faculties built for the enhancement of ideology and prestige.