The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program

1. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program Michael Hensley Dean of Medicine School of Medicine and Public Health October 2006

2. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Background • Major shortage of medical workforce in rural Australia, especially GPs • 134 vacancies for GPs in NSW rural towns • Predicted shortage of 200 to 350 GPs in rural NSW in 2007 • Large proportion of rural GPs approaching retirement age • Widespread shortage in specialist workforce

3. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Context • The University of New England is based in rural area with substantial shortages of GPs and specialists • UNE has strong track record of providing education in rural settings • The University of Newcastle has a high quality medical program with an inadequate number of Commonwealth-Supported places (80) • The Hunter New England Health Service is an important partner of both universities

4. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • July 2006 the Commonwealth announced 80 new Commonwealth-Supported Places (CSPs) for a new joint medical program between the Universities of Newcastle and New England in partnership with Hunter New England Health • 60 places based at UNE (Armidale) • 20 places at Newcastle taking its CSP total to 100: ‘Newcastle’ includes all Hunter facilities, the Central Coast and the Rural Clinical School across New England and mid North Coast • New program to start in 2008

5. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Broad principles agreed early in 2006 as part of submission process included • Truly joint medical program eg same curriculum, same assessment, one Dean of Medicine, one medical school • Rural-focussed program: the joint medical program will have over 50% rural-origin students (84/160) • Maximum efficiency with no duplication of administrative or academic resources

6. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • The Benefits • Increased medical workforce for rural-remote Australia in the longer term • Enhancement of New England area medical workforce associated with a full medical program • A medical program for UNE • Expansion of the Newcastle program: essential in current environment • Strong base for postgraduate training and research in rural medicine

7. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • The Risks (potential) • Major overall risk is related to the availability of resources needed for a larger medical program: clinical teachers; patients; medical science teachers and facilities; administrative staff; university and health care facilities; money • Adverse impact on activities of all parties: health services, education and research • Adverse impact on Newcastle University Medical Program, eg AMC accreditation • A separate UNE medical school

8. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program: Student numbers • Newcastle University Medical Program 2006 and 2007 • 80 CSPs including 11 Bonded Medical Places and 5 Rural Bonded places (in 2007 these will be 20 and 7 respectively) • Up to 8 special indigenous places (4 in 2006) • Up to 25% domestic fee-paying places (6 in 2006 but can be up to 26) • 20 International fee-paying places • Total for 2006 of 111: up to 130 for 2007

9. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program: Potential student numbers UNUNETotals University CSP’s 100 60 160 Dom FP (up to25%) up to 33 up to 20 up to 53 Int FP (Approx 20%) up to 40 up to 20 up to 60 TOTALS 100 to 17360 to 100160 to 273 2008 Probably 200 (160 CSP; 20 DomFP; 20 Int FP)

10. B Med (Newcastle): Overview • 5 Year program with secondary and tertiary entry • Problem-based learning: small groups in Years 1 and 2 • Early clinical experience; community oriented • Long record of rural experience in centres around Australia from 1980 • Graduate performance equivalent to USyd and UNSW overall; better communication skills • No plans for major change to curriculum but always looking to improve

11. B Med (Newcastle): Overview • Curriculum Implementation • Requirements for physical infrastructure and staff to educate 5x the number of first year students; access to hospitals with over 2,000 beds across HNEH and NSCCH • Years 1 and 2 are managed at the University campus with minimal impact on clinical placements • Years 3, 4 and 5 rely on the availability of clinical placements and clinician teachers • The Newcastle medical program involves 14 FTE general staff, 26 FTE University academic staff and over 400 conjoint staff who do the majority of the clinical teaching

12. B Med (Newcastle): Admission process • 3 stage process • Academic criteria: top 10% HSC / top 15% for rural origin; credit level or better at tertiary (>2,000 with approx 800 having Newcastle first choice) • Performance in UMAT used to rank for interview (500 for 2007) • Performance at interview used to rank for offer (80 +up to 26 for 2007) • New Rural Admissions Scheme for 2007 to ensure 30% rural origin students • Complemented by a regional Dean’s list to ensure 20% regional students

13. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Working Party • Joint Working Party established with members from both Universities, Hunter New England Health and medical practitioners from the New England region • Co-Chaired by Dean, EHPS, UNE and Dean of Medicine UN; reports to VCs Steering Committee • To plan for implementation of the UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • To identify operational imperatives and form working parties to address these • Meets monthly • Has met three times (17/7, 14/8 and 18/9); next meeting 16 October

14. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Tasks • Curriculum Implementation • Clinical Placements • Student Administration • Student Accommodation • Financial arrangements • Library • Physical Infrastructure • Publicity

15. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Administrative Arrangements to date • Degree name – Bachelor of Medicine • Courses – Same Newcastle ‘MEDI’ courses at both universities plus one (or two) electives • Common admission process • Common assessment and progression rules/policies • Double badging of Testamurs

16. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Accreditation by the Australian Medical Council • Current University of Newcastle program has accreditation from 2003 to 2013 through its School of Medicine and Public Health • Will be seen as much more than increasing student numbers at Newcastle from 80 to 160, that is a ‘major change’. A ‘joint’ medical program is a first for Australia • Thorough analysis of facilities and resources across all campuses and in all areas of student education, includes research performance • Thorough analysis of the availability of clinical placements and clinician teachers • Process for major change can take up to 12-18 months: ?2008 intake

17. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program • Summary – A superb opportunity • To contribute to the medical workforce for rural and remote Australia, especially Northern NSW • To enhance health services across the Hunter and New England regions • To enhance medical education across the continuum from undergraduate to prevocational and vocational training to continuing professional development • To enhance medical and health research • To provide an effective and efficient new model for medical education in Australia

18. The UN/UNE Joint Medical Program Michael Hensley Dean of Medicine School of Medicine and Public Health October 2006