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Health Students Celebrate the Completion of the Three-Year GROW Rural South West Queensland Program

19 September 2022

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​Health Workforce Queensland’s GROW Rural South West Queensland (GROW Rural SWQ) program has seen the same undergraduate cohort engage with the local communities of Roma, St George and Charleville since 2020. This year, the third and final year of the program, 13 health students will complete it over 13 – 16 October 2022. Due to GROW Rural SWQ’s cancellation last year, students will be treated to an extended program to ensure that they can really get involved with the Charleville community and make lasting connections.

The purpose of GROW Rural SWQ is to provide first-year medical, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, and allied health students with a unique experience to develop familiarity and a deeper understanding of the potential benefits of working in rural Queensland. By cultivating strong connections with the health workforce community and the broader community, the GROW Rural SWQ program encourages health students to return to rural communities for their clinical placements and to consider rural practice as a future career opportunity.

HWQ CEO, Chris Mitchell said “we are very excited that this cohort of students are able to complete the South West program this year. We are hopeful that these students will become the workforce of the future for these South West Qld communities. We are pleased to have such a positive relationship with Southern Queensland Rural Health (SQRH) and know that the program is enhanced by their involvement, support and partnership.”

During the 2022 GROW Rural SWQ program, students will:

  • Be welcomed onto Country by Traditional Owners

  • Hear stories and yarn with local Elders whilst participating in an Indigenous art activity

  • Talk with local health professionals and discover what inspired them to go rural

  • Share breakfast with Charleville State High School students

  • Participate in a retrieval medicine scenario with local health professionals

  • Be fascinated by the Bilby Experience and go on a journey through the Cosmos

GROW Rural SWQ has partnered with Southern Queensland Rural Health (SQRH) as Event Partner. Health Workforce Queensland are very grateful for the support and assistance that SQRH have brought to the program.

SQRH Director, Associate Professor Geoff Argus said “GROW Rural SWQ is a wonderful opportunity for students interested in a rural health career to be immersed in a rural community in South West Queensland. We know that there are many benefits to rural living, both professional and personal. For students to be fully engaged with an incredibly welcoming community such as Charleville during this experience, it will hopefully inspire them to apply for roles there upon graduation. SQRH is very proud to partner with Health Workforce Queensland in this three-year initiative and look forward to meeting the students during their time in Charleville.”

GROW Rural is an initiative of HWQ, a not for profit, non-Government Rural Workforce Agency for primary health workforce in Queensland, focused on making sure remote, rural, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities have access to highly skilled health professionals when and where they need them, now and into the future.

We thank our Event Partner, SQRH for the continued support.