a College of Medicine and Dentistry , James Cook University , Townsville , QLD , Australia.
b Mt Isa Centre for Rural & Remote Health , Mount Isa , QLD , Australia.
Med Teach. 2018 May;40(5):495-500. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2018.1435859. Epub 2018 Feb 19.
James Cook University (JCU) enrolled its first cohort of 64 in 2000 into a 6-year undergraduate medical program aimed at producing graduates capable of meeting the needs of North Queensland, Australia, with a focus on rural, remote, Indigenous and tropical health. The school's 1465 graduates over 13 cohorts who have a pattern of practice likely to meet the region's health needs. The JCU course was the first new Australian medical program for 25 years. The number of Australian medical schools has since doubled, while enrollments have almost tripled.
JCU's course features innovations such as dispersed, community-based education, rurally-focused selection, extended rural placements, and an emphasis on community needs - which are all now mainstream. This paper traces developments at JCU over the past decade, illustrating parallels with the broader Australian scene.
Maintaining quality and educational integrity while numbers grow is challenging. The course has undergone modest curriculum redesign, but the fundamental elements are intact. The focus on meeting the region's needs remains, with some evolution of its mission to include social accountability and the needs of underserved populations.
Postgraduate pathways are an important priority. Regional training hubs are being developed to support local pipelines into specialty practice. Queensland's Rural Generalist Pathway provides an incentivised pathway to rural practice while Generalist Medical Training provides a local training pipeline into general practice and rural medicine. As these initiatives mature, communities should benefit as JCU and other Australian programs continue to address local workforce needs.
詹姆斯·库克大学（JCU）于 2000 年招收了第一批 64 名学生，进入一个为期 6 年的本科医学课程，旨在培养能够满足澳大利亚北昆士兰需求的毕业生，重点是农村、偏远、土著和热带健康。该校 13 个批次的 1465 名毕业生的实践模式可能符合该地区的健康需求。JCU 的课程是 25 年来澳大利亚第一个新的医学课程。此后，澳大利亚的医学院数量增加了一倍，而入学人数几乎增加了两倍。
JCU 的课程具有创新性，例如分散的、以社区为基础的教育、以农村为重点的选拔、延长的农村实习以及对社区需求的重视——现在这些都已成为主流。本文追溯了 JCU 在过去十年中的发展，展示了与澳大利亚更广泛的情况的相似之处。
在人数增长的情况下保持质量和教育完整性是具有挑战性的。该课程经历了适度的课程重新设计，但基本要素保持不变。课程仍然侧重于满足该地区的需求，其使命也有所演变，包括社会责任和服务不足人群的需求。
研究生途径是一个重要的优先事项。正在开发区域培训中心，以支持当地进入专业实践的渠道。昆士兰州农村全科医生途径为农村实践提供了激励途径，而全科医学培训则为进入全科医学和农村医学的当地培训渠道提供了支持。随着这些举措的成熟，社区应该受益，因为 JCU 和其他澳大利亚项目将继续满足当地劳动力需求。
