The Royal Flying Doctor Service is continuing to strengthen Australia’s rural medical workforce through a long-standing partnership with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), with a recent engagement at Belmont Hospital (part of Hunter New England Local Health District) highlighting the growing impact of this collaboration.
Hosted at Belmont Hospital, the RFDS–ACRRM session brought together 22 resident medical officers, junior doctors and medical educators to explore rural generalist careers and training pathways. The series has evolved from RFDS’ existing partnership with ACRRM and reflects a shared commitment to developing a sustainable, highly skilled rural health workforce.
Strong attendance and engagement underscored the appetite for authoritative, real‑world insights into rural practice. Several clinicians attended while on shift, and a senior medical educator joined the session while on call – demonstrating both the demand for these conversations and the credibility of RFDS and ACRRM as leaders in rural generalism.
Delivered as part of RFDS’ Health Workforce Strategy, the newly established bi‑annual sessions draw on RFDS’ deep operational experience in rural and remote medicine. By sharing practical knowledge from senior clinicians and educators, RFDS continues to position itself as a trusted authority on rural generalist careers, training pathways and life working in remote communities.
The impact of the partnership is already evident. Attendees from earlier sessions have gone on to apply for rural generalist training, express interest in registrar roles with RFDS and pursue future fellowship pathways. The initiative has also generated strong interest from medical educators keen to align their careers with rural and remote health services.
Belmont Hospital’s Director of Medical Services welcomed the growing collaboration, noting the excitement it has generated among junior doctors and requesting a more formalised partnership approach into the future.
By building on its established partnership with ACRRM, RFDS is not only supporting the next generation of rural clinicians – we are reinforcing our role as a national authority in rural generalism and a leading employer for doctors passionate about delivering care where it is needed most.
Delivered as part of RFDS’ Health Workforce Strategy, the newly established bi‑annual sessions draw on RFDS’ deep operational experience in rural and remote medicine. By sharing practical knowledge from senior clinicians and educators, RFDS continues to position itself as a trusted authority on rural generalist careers, training pathways and life working in remote communities.
The impact of the partnership is already evident. Attendees from earlier sessions have gone on to apply for rural generalist training, express interest in registrar roles with RFDS and pursue future fellowship pathways. The initiative has also generated strong interest from medical educators keen to align their careers with rural and remote health services.
Belmont Hospital’s Director of Medical Services welcomed the growing collaboration, noting the excitement it has generated among junior doctors and requesting a more formalised partnership approach into the future.
By building on its established partnership with ACRRM, RFDS is not only supporting the next generation of rural clinicians – we are reinforcing our role as a national authority in rural generalism and a leading employer for doctors passionate about delivering care where it is needed most.
