title: Barriers to prevocational placement programs in rural general practice.
abstract: Despite explicit support of the federal and state health departments, most prevocational trainees do not experience general practice or rural medicine. We have been running a program of prevocational placements of trainees working as rural general practitioners under supervision. From our experience, we have identified various barriers to implementation of such programs. These barriers include: funding issues (trainees are providing federally funded Medicare-rebatable services, while receiving state-funded hospital salaries); conflicts between the placement of trainees outside the hospital when hospitals are undergoing staffing crises; difficulties in coordinating the many organisations (funding bodies, practices, hospitals) involved in providing the placement; and the isolation experienced by trainees when they arrive in rural practice. Funding from a single administration and coordination by a locally appointed rural Director of Clinical Training are essential to overcome these barriers.
authors.affiliation: Royal Perth Hospital, Wellington Street, Perth, WA 6000, Australia. alistair.vickery@health.wa.gov.au
authors.forename: Alistair W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Vickery
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tarala
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education*; D005376:Financial Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000458:organization & administration; D015397:Program Evaluation; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014904:Western Australia