Beyond the Rural Placement: Considerations for Supporting Rural Origin Health Professions Students During Their Entire University Experience

Abstract

Objective

There is good evidence that a well-supported, positive rural clinical university placement experience contributes to rural origin students' intentions to practice rurally. However, not much is known about the support needs of rural origin students at university more generally. This research aims to identify and understand the support needs of rural origin health professions students entering and studying at university, using the lens of situational and experiential factors.

Setting

The research was conducted at a medium-sized Australian university with multiple metropolitan, regional and remote campuses.

Participants

Students enrolled in a health profession course who met criteria for rural origin were invited to participate.

Design

This research used a pragmatic mixed methods approach. Analysis examined the support needs identified by students for situational and experiential factors that influenced their experience of university study.

Results

The research revealed four rural origin health professions student profiles based on their enrolment patterns: Relocated students; Commuting students; Distance students; and Local students. Support needs were predominantly practical, but differed according to each profile type. Considerations for designing student support include adopting a ‘whole-of-course’, futures-oriented, situation-sensitive and reflexive view of the student's university experience, beyond the rural placement.

Conclusion

This research advances Australian Government education policy, which aims to increase participation and attainment rates for rural origin students at university. The findings suggest important first steps for university leaders responsible for designing appropriate supports for rural origin health professions students.