Under the Scheme ‘rural’ is classified as zones R1-Rem2 of the Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas Classification Scheme (RRMA), summarised in the Table A,
with exceptions for Darwin (NT) and Townsville (QLD) due to isolation by distance.
Table A: Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Classification Scheme
|
Zone |
Classification |
Category |
Metropolitan |
M1 |
Capital Cities |
|
M2 |
Other Metropolitan Centres (urban centre population >100,000 ) |
Rural |
R1 |
Large Rural Centre (urban centre population 25,000 – 99,999) |
|
R2 |
Small Rural Centre (urban centre population 10,000 – 24,999) |
|
R3 |
Other Rural Centre (urban centre population <10,000) |
Remote |
Rem1 |
Remote Centre (urban centre population > 4,999) |
|
Rem2 |
Other Remote Centre (urban centre population < 5,000) |
(Further information available from www.aihw.gov.au/ruralhealth/methodology/rrma.cfm)
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The Support Scheme for Rural Specialists (SSRS) was developed in 2002 and is a program aimed at improving access to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities for specialist medical practitioners living and working in regional, rural and remote Australia. The program is an activity of the Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges, is funded by the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing and available to most Medical College’s of Australia.
The programs objectives are to:
- Provide professional support to medical specialists practising in rural and remote areas of Australia, including continuing professional development and peer support.
- Identify future training and capacity building practices for rural specialist services in rural and remote areas of Australia.
From 2003 – 2006 through SSRS funding, the College has been able to provide videoconference presentations to rural and remote College Fellows, Educational Affiliates, Area of Need (AoN) specialists and Overseas Trained Specialists (OTS). At that time a potential 245 rural specialists were identified within the College membership, now grown to approximately 330 today with approximately 80 additional non members.
Two specific varieties of videoconferences were developed, Case Reviews and Monthly Scientific Meetings (or MSM). The Monthly Scientific Meetings and Case Review sessions were popular, well attended events with up to 33 practice sites and up to 75 full-time rural specialists from public and private sectors participating on each occasion. The program also attracted radiographers, sonographers and Practice Managers. In addition, over 40 local Victorian Branch members participated in the Monthly Scientific Meetings from a Melbourne venue.
The SSRS programs have been able to provide additional CPD sessions to locations all across Australia and some cities in New Zealand (at their own expense)
The DVD recordings now form an instrumental part of the College’s CPD library and are available for purchased from the College, visit http://www.ranzcr.edu.au/cpd/dvdlibrary/index.cfm.
Presentations covered X-rays, CT, PET, MRI scans and ultrasound imaging equipment with topics such as breast screening, gynaecological conditions, orthopedics, ultrasound-guided shoulder injection, fetal MRI, hepatocellular carcinoma, head & neck pathologies, spinal trauma, diffusion tensor imaging, orbital muscles & nerves, vertebroplasty, testicular trauma, sarcoma management, cervix cancer diagnosis & management, iliac stenting, carotid stenting, endoluminal grafting , acute abdomen in paediatrics, emergency settings, facio-maxillary problems, lung disease, nuclear medicine, renal arteries, risk management and new techniques in radiation oncology to name just a few.
There was also acknowledgement of the efforts made by the team who organised the sessions which had become a highly valuable teaching tool. These SSRS programs were administered by Dr Julie Shaw, the Program Manager, Prof Ken Thomson and a team from The Alfred Hospital along with Prof Alexander Pitman from St Vincent’s Hospital, the Victorian Branch of the College and numerous Radiology and Radiation Oncology presenters, registrars and the rural and remote centres. Their hard work and dedication to the program ensured its continuation for four years.
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