WA Centre for Rural Health

New research from the WA Centre for Rural Health of the The University of Western Australia has highlighted the growing financial pressures faced by nursing and allied health students undertaking rural clinical placements. Published in the Australian Journal of Rural Health, the study found that concerns about finances among students on placement increased from 29.6% in 2017 to 38.2% in 2024, reflecting the rising cost of living and the additional expenses associated with training in regional and remote communities.

Lead author Dr Astrid Turner said rural placements remain one of the strongest pathways into the rural health workforce, but escalating costs are creating barriers for many students. The findings reinforce the need for targeted support to ensure future health professionals can access valuable rural learning experiences and help address workforce shortages in regional Australia.

Read the commentary 👉 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70246

Last week, WA Centre for Rural Health staff from our Midwest and Pilbara offices travelled across to Adelaide, to attend and present at the National Rural Health Alliance's conference.

Senior Lecturer Dr Astrid Turner presented on ‘𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗔'.

Lecturer Catherine Wilson presented on ‘𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗔 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗮’.

Associate Lecturer Allyce Lund presented a poster titled ‘𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹’.

Thank you, Astrid, Catherine and Allyce, for sharing your expertise, contributing to important conversations in rural health, and helping to strengthen the future rural health workforce.

Health educators from The University of Western Australia School of Health and Clinical Sciences (SHCS) recently gathered in Geraldton for the 2026 SHCS Teaching Retreat, hosted by the WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) who are part of the SCHS at UWA. Bringing together over 70 staff from Perth, Geraldton and Karratha, the retreat provided an opportunity to share ideas, explore innovative approaches to health education, and strengthen collaboration across the metropolitan and regional teams.

The program featured discussions on student and staff wellbeing in regional communities, cultural safety, rural workforce development, trauma-informed teaching and emerging educational technologies. The retreat highlighted the important role of rural perspectives in shaping the future of health education and preparing a skilled, culturally responsive health workforce for Western Australia.

Read the media release 👉 https://www.wacrh.uwa.edu.au/2026/09/UWA-teaching-retreat-brings-health-educators-together-in-Geraldton

Congratulations to WA Centre for Rural Health social worker Prue Martawidjaja and her coauthors on the publication of the 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸: 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Living and working in the Pilbara, Prue has an appreciation of both the strengths of rural and remote communities and challenges families can face when accessing and navigating services.

The Policy and Practice Pack series provides concise, practical resources designed to support policy and practice audiences with actionable insights.

This latest pack examines how lived experience can be authentically and equitably embedded into the work of practitioners and policymakers to support meaningful, sustainable and safe outcomes.
https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/4403704/hscu-policy-and-practice-pack-s3-p2-through-authentic-lived-experience-involvement.pdf

Dietetics students Kate and Alexa crossed the country to undertake a WA Centre for Rural Health rural placement in regional Western Australia. Kate was based in Geraldton and Alexa in Roebourne. Before returning home, we asked them what they enjoyed most about their placement experience.

Biggest surprise?
Kate: "I was surprised by how much there is to do in Geraldton. There really is something for everyone."
Alexa: ""Realising the cultural and historical significance of Roebourne."

Placement highlight?
Kate: "We'll be leaving with connections and friendships that will last well beyond placement."
Alexa: "Leaving this week felt like saying goodbye to family."

Advice to future students?
Kate: "Take the opportunity. You won't regret it."
Alexa: "Spend time in the community outside placement hours. That's where the best connections are made."

A big thank you to the communities, health services and local organisations that help make these placement experiences so memorable and rewarding for our students.

Interested in a WACRH placement? Ask your university placement coordinator to email [email protected] or call +61 8 9956 0200.

𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 (𝟭𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲)
This online interactive masterclass will support clinical supervisors to embed reflective practice and effective feedback within rural student placements. Participants will explore practical strategies for developing students’ feedback literacy and evaluative judgement, including their capacity to identify their own learning priorities.

The session will focus on how rural clinical supervisors can actively involve students in reflection and feedback processes, enabling them to learn from experience and take increasing responsibility for their professional development. Participants will leave with adaptable tools and approaches for supporting reflective, responsive, and self-directed future health professionals.

Register here https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1521695

The WA Centre for Rural Health's annual 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 was held over two days in August, bringing together 45 Year 10 students from seven Midwest high schools to explore careers in health. Supported by allied health and medical university students, local health professionals, and members of the Waalhiibe Student Rural Health Club, the event showcased 17 different health professions through interactive and engaging learning experiences.

Throughout the academy, students participated in ever popular speed careers sessions, case studies, hands-on practical skills activities, and discussions with health professionals and university students. The experiences provided valuable insights into a range of health career pathways, educational requirements, and real-world professional experiences, helping students make informed decisions about their future studies and careers.

Nagle Catholic College Geraldton Grammar School Geraldton Senior High School Geraldton Flexible Learning Centre Champion Bay Senior High School Kalbarri District High School Mullewa District High School

We are seeking a full-time 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) of The University of Western Australia at our Geraldton site.

Lead one of Australia's largest and most respected University Departments of Rural Health.

The Director provides strategic, academic and operational leadership for WACRH. The role fosters excellence in rural, remote and Aboriginal health research, teaching, workforce development, policy contribution and community engagement across the University and with external partners.

https://external.jobs.uwa.edu.au/jobs/director-wa-centre-for-rural-health-geraldton-crawley-wa-australia-geraldton?lApplicationSubSourceID=

Applications close: 19 September 2026.

We had a fantastic turnout at last week’s Student Interprofessional Learning Session, The Pharmacist’s Role in Collaborative Care, facilitated by Curtin University pharmacy students Ashley, Kate, Ciara and Loren.

More than 30 students attended in Geraldton, with others joining via MS Teams from Carnarvon, Mount Magnet and Roebourne. Students from occupational therapy, pharmacy, dietetics, medical science, social work, speech pathology, optometry and physiotherapy came together to learn, collaborate and strengthen their confidence working across disciplines.

The WA Centre for Rural Health presented at the Rural Health West Aboriginal Health Conference in Boorloo (Perth). Associate Professor Ivan Lin, Lecturer Lenny Papertalk presented ‘Clinical Yarning: A person-centred communication framework for Aboriginal healthcare’, an interactive workshop exploring practical communication tools to support culturally safe, person-centred care for Aboriginal people. Research Officer Emma Taylor facilitated ‘Cancer campaigns and resources: What works, what’s missing, and what comes next’, sharing findings from a recent review of cancer education initiatives and engaging participants in discussions about creating meaningful, culturally safe and actionable cancer messages for Aboriginal communities.

Reflecting on the conference, Emma said: “It was wonderful to hear from so many inspiring speakers about the work they are doing to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities.” Emma also highlighted the opportunity to learn from keynote speakers and fellow presenters, and to connect in person with colleagues and community members.