School of Rural Medicine
Back to Faculty
The School of Rural Medicine is committed to developing future healthcare leaders through higher degree research, academic posts, and tailored skills training.
The School of Rural Medicine is committed to supporting individuals to undertake HDR degrees. Research staff in the School are available to supervise Research Masters and PhD projects. These HDR programs will be available from 2026.
General Practice registrars are expected to systematically filter, critically appraise, interpret, and apply the vast array of information at their disposal. The Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program is designed to facilitate the development of registrars' competencies in research, pedagogy, and critical thinking. This development is supported through mentorship and guidance provided by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), and affiliated universities.
The School of Rural Medicine offers Academic Post positions to suitable GP registrar applicants.
An Academic Post is a 12-month (0.5 FTE) training term undertaken concurrently with clinical work as part of registrar training on the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program. It provides exposure to research and teaching in an academic environment and enables registrars to develop skills in research and critical thinking. Academic Posts are available through RACGP and ACRRM.
In 2025 we graduated our first ACRRM Academic Post Registrar Dr Jackson Blythe. Supervised by Drs Damien Limberger and Catherine Keniry. Jackson completed a valuable research project titled: "Critical Care Readiness in Rural Emergency Departments in Western NSW. Jackson’s story and his research experience:
‘Rural generalists working in emergency settings are obliged to maintain a critical care skillset to manage relatively uncommon hyperacute presentations. This was a mixed methods study exploring the frequency of critical care procedures in peripheral emergency departments in Western NSW, as well as using semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences and perceptions of rural doctors in delivering critical care in rural environments. Subsequent reflexive thematic analysis identified a set of overarching themes which, taken as a whole, demonstrate that rural generalists feel unsupported and undervalued in critical care delivery. The study suggests a more proactive approach is needed to upskilling rural generalists, and that a focus on shared learning between medical and nursing staff may be useful in ensuring rural EDs are well-prepared for high-acuity, low-occurrence presentations."
ACRRM and RACGP offer ASTs as part of their training pathway. The Research and Evaluation Team are happy to discuss academic supervision of AST research projects, and help you to build your skills in research and critical thinking.
In 2025 we graduated out first ACRRM AST (Population Health) registrar, Dr Jean Littlewood. Dr Littlewood is a dedicated rural generalist, and through her ACRRM AST research project, connected with Dr Shannon Nott (WNSWLHD, and RFDS). Dr Littlewood undertook a critical research project evaluating the 4Ts model of care. This model was a first for WNSWLHD – the ‘4 T’s’ are 4 rural communities (Trangie, Tottenham, Tullamore and Trundle) who experienced a lack of primary healthcare services due to the retirement of their longstanding GPs.
In Dr Littlewood’s words: “Research through the CSU School of Rural Health was a fantastic experience. I had only a few skills in research from uni and hadn’t ever done an ethics application so was very grateful for all the help and guidance from my supervisors and others at the school. The research itself was interesting and took me to new places and meeting new people which was a goal for me. It also allowed me to hear valuable insights into primary care and the challenges it faces in rural areas from those who live there. As a future rural generalist, it was also important to me to hear about the possible solutions going forward to these challenges, like the 4Ts model. I would recommend to anyone wanting to find out more to get in touch."
In 2025, following over 2 years of engagement in rural health research projects, supporting rural clinicians, our medical students and ACRRM registrars, the School of Rural Medicine recognised a need for a short, non-award course: Foundations in Rural Health Research. There is a considerable lack of rural health-focused research training, and an exceptional need. Whilst training programs are available, such as HETI’s 2 year experiential Rural Research Capacity Building program Rural Research Capacity Building Program through NSW Health, and the excellent seminars offered by the RR-CLAN network, shorter courses covering skills development in rural health are limited. Involving stakeholders such as ACRRM, RACGP, NSW Health, HETI and rural GPs and allied health clinicians in the design development was crucial to ensure the course is tailored to rural health clinicians seeking research skills.
For further information or to express an interest in applying please email: srm-research@csu.edu.au