Rural origin student representation in health courses at the University of Tasmania: 2011–2020

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe longitudinal trends in the admission and completion of domestic Tasmanian rural origin students in health courses at the University of Tasmania (UTAS).MethodsA retrospective audit of records for all domestic Tasmanian students admitted to, or who completed a health course offered by UTAS between 2011 and 2020 was conducted. Data extracted from student records included gender, age, Indigenous background, rural origin (based on residential address outside of Launceston or Hobart at the time of application), health discipline, year of admission and/or completion. Data were analysed in STATA.ResultsBetween 2011 and 2020, 7516 domestic Tasmanian students were admitted to health courses at UTAS, of which 22.6% were rural origin (vs. a rural population of 36.7%). Students admitted were mostly female (77.0%) and studying nursing (51.1%). Rural origin students were more likely to study at the regional campus in Launceston than in Hobart, the capital city (OR, 3.79 [3.4–4.3, p < 0.00]). Over this same period, 5086 students completed a health course. There was little difference in completion rates among regional vs. rural origin students (OR, 1.04 [1.0–1.1, p < 0.00]); however, completion rates decreased with increasing remoteness. Indigenous and male students were less likely to complete than non‐Indigenous (OR, 0.73 [0.7–0.8, p < 0.05]) and female students (OR, 0.97 [1.0–1.0, p < 0.05]) respectively.ConclusionsTasmanian rural origin students are admitted to a range of health courses at UTAS and many complete. However, additional measures are needed to attract a greater number of local rural origin students to study health courses and to support them through to course completion.

Are recent health, welfare and care graduates part of a rural and remote workforce solution? Evidence from Tasmania, Australia

“…The Tasmanian Government has already implemented strategic measures to address congoing health workforce shortages by investing in local training opportunities where sustainable to do so [ 31 , 41 ], and introducing scholarship schemes to attract candidates from interstate courses [ 49 ]. While these strategies align with evidence-based approaches to rural workforce growth and sustainability [ 23 , 54 , 55 ], other measures are recommended including: affirmative selection of Tasmanian rural origin students into health courses given these students are more likely to remain in the state and work in rural areas post-qualifying [ 17 , 21 , 23 , 54 , 55 ]; and building high-quality placement capacity across the state, especially for allied health professions and those without local training options, to build a pipeline of interested graduates [ 22 , 23 , 54 ] and promote job satisfaction among the existing workforce [ 56 ]. Improving rural curricula across health courses and building generalist capabilities will also support health graduates to transition successfully into rural positions when available [ 27 , 53 , 55 ].…”

“…Health, welfare and care service managers often offer graduate positions to build rural workforce capacity given they typically attract a greater applicant pool and are therefore easier to fill [ 19 , 20 ]. This is fortuitous as health, welfare and care graduates are becoming increasingly motivated to seek rural employment, through affirmative selection of students with a rural background [ 21 ], positive rural clinical training experiences [ 22 ], previous experience either living or studying in that location [ 23 ], or through personal motivation to practice in a rural setting [ 23 ]. While this opportunistic employment of recent graduates motivated toward a career in rural health is congruent with sustainable rural health workforce policy [ 24 ], recent studies show a degree of ‘urban drift’ amongst rural origin health graduates, suggesting a lack of suitable positions in rural areas [ 25 , 26 ].…”